Nicholas Ponti Crop Top via FORWARD by Elyse Walker

Rachel Zoe Chase Boyfriend Jacket and Jett Wide-Leg Pants via Neiman Marcus

This is what you buy when you’re not feeling well. Nothing like a slick crop top and a sharp suit to pick you up.

[Or at least that's what I was telling myself yesterday.]

Seeing The Great Gatsby reminded me of all those themes that I hurriedly tried to learn while shutting my Cliff Notes before the test. But here are the two answers that I took away from it.

1. Find the one who will look at you the way Jay looks at Daisy. Sometimes you reflect back the same intensity, and sometimes, you are on the receiving end of a look, a look so strong that it surpasses the heat of intensity and is now a warm pass through of the purest love you know to ever exist. That is the look that will remain with you. When you begin to forget everything about the relationship, and slowly everything about the man, you thank him and yourself- for being so present that you were able to capture this snippet of life that otherwise would have been lost- for that moment when he looked at you. The way in which you know he loves you more than anyone before and after. I reference it. Not often, but enough to know what I deserve beyond spoken superlatives.

2. Don’t give up the one who makes you look that way. Jay chooses to make himself a better man, who he perceives to be a good enough man for Daisy, while losing her in the process. Life is spoiled with intricacies- and because of this fact, I’ve set my romantic notion aside and have learned that love is not always enough. Love can be situational. You may think you’re in love based on circumstance, you may think you’re out of love because of a slew of them. I’ve heard that you need to be the best person you can be before you are able to find and accept your partner, but I don’t believe that to be true. Love enters when someone is able to accept you for who you are- not who that person wants you to be, expects you to be, or even who you expect that person to expect you to be- as was Jay’s downfall. Love is present and sometimes it waits and sometimes a great one doesn’t. Blame that fast current. Love now and you’ll love long.

I am beside you.

Twinged in a spot of pain. My semi-subconscious head tilt.

Toward you.

I greet the curves of your face. These slopes that I want to slide

and linger

all over.

You are

beautiful.

A conscious notion

that you are

unconscious of.

Maybe.

I am beside you

after all.

And where I am

is where I feel most

beautiful-

not because you

tell me-

but because

you choose to be

beside

me

even if

it’s far from

right.

*Rad jackets make me write true, false-true-truths about who I’m with and how I feel when I’m wearing them. Don’t mind me, or keep me in mind, if you want to.

Maryam Nassir Zadeh Alegranza Bomber Jackets in Wood and Chalk

If I had a boyfriend, he’d be a Sandro man. I’d even buy the Thunderbird Vintage Blue Denim Jacket for myself if it was made in an XS.

Note to self: Everything looks more pulled together when you fill the space between.

Images via the Zimmermann Summer Swim 13/14 Campaign.

DSQUARED2 Compact Jersey Ruffle Dress

Vera Wang Collection Off-Shoulder Dress With Tulip Skirt

Zimmermann Floral Slip Dress

DKNY Maxi Dress With Bodysuit

J Brand Ready-to-Wear Gale Sweatshirt Dress

M Missoni Color Block Tie Waist Dress

Text message from my date: I’m worried that my fashion is horrible

My response: I just figured out what I’m wearing and I’m not going to iron the shirt I’m wearing so come however!

This was the exchange I had while getting ready for a first date last week. I had been thinking about what I was going to wear and when I got home, I passed Bec’s men’s red and black checkered button down shirt hanging in the hallway- washed the night before- and grabbed it en route to my bedroom. There, I tied the bottom of the shirt at my waist and because of my low-waisted J Brand Vera Skinny Jeans, allowed a breath of skin to show. With a wavy ponytail and plenty of face framing pieces in motion, I sprinted out of my place in my comfortable Report Signature black heels, as my date had already texted asking for my drink order.

I tend to go pretty casual on a first date. It’s my I’m-not-going-to-try-too-hard-here-because-I’d-like-to-think-I-don’t-need-to shtick. A sunrise-ending date and a few nights later, I was discussing with a girlfriend what she was planning to wear on a first date of her own. While we didn’t get into specifics, we did establish that she likes to wear a dress on a first date.

So it got me thinking about the types of dresses I’d wear on a first date. I discovered I’d wear an array of varying styles- but with one constant that grounds the entire look. For each dress above, the hair would be the defining factor- the balance, or contradiction. If the dress is fancy like the Vera Wang Collection one, I’d wear a more relaxed hairstyle, like a loose side braid. For a casual dress like the J Brand one, I’d wear a more froufrou hairstyle, like perfectly-crafted waves.

And the dresses I chose may not be your ideals and that is fine. Take inspiration in them, or embrace the fact that we won’t be sitting next to each other in the same dress on our respective dates. Because to be perfectly honest, the best dress you can wear is an honest one- that which you feel your most self in.

The styling here is good. When wearing a black and white piece, I often seek my pop by way of a red or other bright colored shoe, but it’s almost a smarter decision to let a neutral stand out. Wearing a neutral, more rugged boot here looks like a deeper, more thought-out move, popping that aspirational effortless confidence.

Styling by FORWARD by elyse walker. Isabel Marant Tilda Hawaiian Modern Silk Dress and Isabel Marant Jenny Velvet Boots.

The only logical thing to do after watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney at the bar- in a guy friend’s t-shirt because he laughed at you when you showed up in a sweater- was to do some feminine decompressing in my new Zimmermann playsuit.

Camilla and Marc Zoe One Piece

Salt Swim Marlo Top and Ava Bottoms

Can’t wait to bum around in these this summer.

I had anxiously been awaiting the arrival of the Oasis playsuit in Jade Floral. Zimmermann called me yesterday and I shimmied right into it and out the door with the piece I can’t wait to shake everywhere in.

Style With Benefits on the left. Me on the right. In 20 years.

Photo via Lane Crawford.

Last year, I had stumbled upon the Maryam Nassir Zadeh e-shop when searching for my Isabel Marant Haway dress. After a pleasant e-mail exchange, the dress was mine and the boutique was my best find. This abode is a hipster’s paradise- chock-full of goodies from Isabel Marant to Eckhaus Latta- with a site that presents itself in the most direct, genuine way that makes me aspire to be a hipster.

And their next door neighbor.

Susan Cianciolo Hand Made Shoes

Mania Mania Transcendence Bracelet

Christopher Lemaire Leather And Shearling Furred Boots

Suzannah Wainhouse Medium Kyanite Pendant Necklace

Saskia Diez Ultrafine Bracelet

Samma Flat Peak Bracelet

Maryam Nassir Zadeh Hippy Sandals

Damir Doma Pina Leather Trousers