"Skinny Love" - Birdy

Oh my, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Let me explain: I've been traveling for work, the end (good explanation). 
To be honest, I've also been suffering from a bit of writer's block. I've been collecting all these gorgeous and unique pieces to put some new looks together and struggling a bit to find the music to match. So really I've been spending most of my time combing through Spotify to find some more songs to inspire me. 

I love Bon Iver. He's become a bit more of a big deal of late, what with the two Grammys and all, and I am happy to have listened to his music prior to his nominations & wins. I can't claim to be a true fan from the beginning, however - my boyfriend likes to remind me that he saw Bon Iver in 2007 at Pitchfork before For Emma, Forever Ago even came out (yes, I am dating a hipster, but a mild one, I assure you) - and I must confess that when someone first recommended him to me I thought they were saying "Boney Bear", but I like to believe that my fandom has made up for lost time. I had the opportunity to see him live at the Orpheum this past fall, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. 

I want to do his latest album justice, but it's taking me some time to decipher the lyrics. So for this post I'm cheating a bit and posting a cover of a Bon Iver song (my unwritten rule is to not duplicate artists as I post; this way I can still post from his sophomore album. Hooray for tricking the system that I created and has no real consequence if I break!). I discovered this song on Spotify (yikes, product placement much?) and it really is a gorgeous cover. I hadn't known anything about Birdy until tonight - my, my, this young lady is talented. She's 16 (!!) and released this cover when she was 15. She simplifies Justin Vernon's song even further, complementing her truly lovely voice with piano. 

The song itself is just heartbreaking, much like the album from whence it came. It's about a relationship that is failing/has failed, and the longing for it to last. This ensemble attempts to evoke that longing, with delicate details that allude to the wearer's fragile emotions, as well as some more rugged notes to represent the wearers jaded views coming out of the experience. 


Listen to the song here.

"Little Talks" - Of Monsters And Men

It has been unseasonably warm recently here in Minneapolis, and it's really getting me in the mood for spring (let's get real, I'm never not in the mood for spring. But this is getting me even more excited). Ok, I may be getting ahead of myself - one forty-degree day does not spring make, but January flew by, amirite? Yes, February is the worst month ever always, but March has the potential to be lovely this year. So here's to March and easing into spring with this pastel palette and the deliciously vintage inspired hat with the adorably practical mittens and that gorgeous Etro coat.


This is another one of those instant "I LOVE THIS" songs for me - Of Monsters And Men is very reminiscent of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes with their back-and-forth choruses and infectiously fun, brass-abundant melodies. This song is about love, growing old together, and eventually accepting death. Not such a happy notion, but the way they sing about it makes me want to smile and cry all at once. It makes me feel a lot like "C'est La Mort" makes me feel because the message is so similar, especially as the lyrics cry, "no wait, wait, wait for me/please hang around/I'll see you when I fall asleep". The difference is this song is so beautifully upbeat and childlike; it tells the same story in a completely different way.


I paired this look with "Little Talks" because this is what I imagine the woman wearing as she waits for her husband. It's youthful and pretty and fun yet still feels glamorous and romantic. 


Listen to the song here.

"Satisfied" - Cee-Lo Green

I so very much wish I had an occasion that demanded an ivory tulle tea length dress. If we're being honest, I wish I could wear a poofy dress every day of my life. "But you can!", they say, "wear what you want!". No. I work in a corporate setting. I cannot walk in wearing a dress as wide as it is long. Not until I get promoted a couple more times. 


Until that day comes, I will fantasize about an alternate reality in which it is perfectly acceptable to twirl instead of walk from place to place. Oh I can't wait. This would be my dressed down version, hence the denim and thick scarf. A girl can't be dressed to the nines every day - she has to slum it once in a while. 


Side note: whenever I see dresses like this I always think about Lea Thompson's dress at the Under the Sea dance in Back To The Future. If it weren't for the casual accessories I may have made this about the song "Earth Angel". It may or may not be a dream of mine to dance to that song. That's a pretty achievable dream, you might think. Oh really? Then why hasn't it happened yet?

But instead while slumming it on a lazy Saturday in this ensemble I would have Cee-Lo's "Satisfied" playing in my head on repeat. His album "The Ladykiller" was one of my favorites in 2010, and this song is one of the main drivers of that. It has such a retro feel and I can't help but feel happier when I hear it. I shoo-bop and doo-wop in my head every time, and this dress has doo-wop written all over it. 

Listen to the song here.