So, I hope you like the wooden deck as a backdrop for photos, because I will not be venturing out any further into my yard for a while, not even in the name of TEITM. A few days ago, I was sitting inside, working on my computer (as always), when my momma and I spotted giant black bear walking up our driveway (Pics or GTFO, you say? I got you). As you should remember from this post, I used to be extremely afraid of bears when I was a smaller Ashley. Like, not-go-outside-by-self-in-fear-of-being-tasty-meal afraid. Despite living here my whole life, this is only about the third bear I've actually seen (although there's been evidence OF bears tromping around a lot more often than that), so I don't think I need to be too concerned. But still, I am creeped out. Thank you, Smokey, you have temporarily ruined my summer.
This outfit came to surface in a different way than usual. Normally, I already have an outfit in mind to begin with--I just need to grab all the pieces out of my closet (or off of my floor. Ahem) and throw them on. Today, I didn't have anything in mind, so I built the whole ensemble piece by piece using trial and error. This is actually my sheer black skirt, and I didn't want it to be too heavy for summer, so I chose a white linen top to go with it. Add a belt, fun earrings, and a pop of color and I'm all set. I'm not used to this "bottom-up" process of creating an outfit...I never really think that much about individual pieces: normally, I have a vision already and just have to put it together. How about you? Do you dream up your outfits ahead of time, or do you make them up the moment you're ready to get dressed?
Top, skirt: Urban Outfitters
Earrings: Mi abuela
Clutch: Marc by Marc Jacobs
oh my god about the bear!! my boyfriend live in Elk River and they saw one in their yard a few weeks ago, but their dog scared it off. That picture is insane!!
ReplyDeleteI am also a total outfit planner. I write them down when they come to me. Metaphor for my life really. I like to plan :]]
Charlotte xxx
Whoa! I dont blame you for being freaked out! My dad used to say that they are just as scared of us as we are of them, but I have my doubts, (we are much smaller than them)!!! Love the belt of this shirt and the bag adds a nice pop of color. Love Marc by Marc!!
ReplyDeleteAesthetic Lounge
we've had so many bear sitings in the city limits in Michigan, too. A few weeks ago, a bear was captured a block from my apartment! It's crazy. It must have something to do with the ready food sources in neighborhoods (dumpsters, etc) and with the destruction of their natural woodsy habitat!
ReplyDeleteA bear? whoa...I've never seen one up close, cause I think that if I did I would be petrified and on top of that you don't want to know what would happen to my pants.
ReplyDeleteI love the neutral colors of this outfit combined with the pop of color of the clutch...where'd the shoe shots go? (said the woman with the shoe obsession)
Anywho, I am enjoying the deck backdrop here and the greenness of the bushes and the trees, you look awesome, as usual :)
Yes, I remember that tweet! OMG! I wouldn't go out of my home too!
ReplyDeleteI usually plan ahead, just before falling asleep. It's like a ritual and calms me down. You know going through all the skirts, dresses and blouses is my alternative to counting sheep. :))
Oh my goodness that is crazy that that beast was just strolling up your drive!! I wouldn't want to venture outside for a week! :P Lo9vely outfit hun I love how the purse gives a splash of colour!
ReplyDeleteL x
I grew up in Alberta Canada and whenever we'd go camping in the summer we always had to be on high alert for bears - it used to terrify me!
ReplyDeleteI'm an outfit planner - I always plan out my looks ahead of time...whenever I try to get dressed on the fly I wind up trying on 18 things and being hideously late.
xoxo ~ Courtney
http://sartorialsidelines.blogspot.com
I love the length of your skirt and how you belted your top. A bear? In your driveway? I would have peed my pants! After screaming out for my mother.
ReplyDeletei heard there were bear sightings near the city! so scary!! i love this skirt...i can't pull off a long skirt, but it looks gorgeous on you!
ReplyDeleteThe wooden deck is perfectly good as a backdrop given you've an overgrown teddy roaming about your neck of the woods lol. Great pics and nice outfit.
ReplyDeleteI really like the way your make-up is done, you looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteSo about the bear. If one showed up here, I would not leave the house. For a long time. There was actually one roaming around Germany for while, a few years ago. He was in the news all the time and was given the name Bruno. Not very creative. He was shot eventually, which is kind of sad.
Bears are scary.
ReplyDeleteNo joke.
I think it up if I want to look nice. Last minute dressing usually = jeans + shirt and out the door.
oh a bear!!
ReplyDeletei always thought bears were cute but this is because i never saw one in reality! i now they can be dangerous!
i love the pop of color on this black and white outifit!!
about the outfits, i usualy imagine how i want my outfits to be but when i put them together i make some changes if i don't like something because sometimes is different in reality than in my head!!
Hehe cute bear! In my city, we get tons of bear sightings every year and rarely do people get attacked. I think if we respect it, they'll respect us.
ReplyDeleteCute outfit! Bottom-up is usually how I compose my outfits. I rarely think of them ahead of time haha Sometimes I'll make an outfit around a single item I feel like wearing that day, usually shoes.
I love this outfit - especially the belt - and I love your makeup - so natural and breezy and summery! And I usually think of my outfits ahead of time, because I like to get up as late as possible and be able to throw on the outfit I laid out the night before! Haha.
ReplyDeleteOutfit creation is usually a little of both - Hopefully I've planned ahead and have some sort of singular vision, but many times I'm just grabbing and hoping i can get some sort of cohesive look in a reasonable amount of time.
ReplyDeleteI think your earrings are quite stunning, and I love the bright clutch. I want one. I'm not supposed to buy any more bags this year, but a clutch isn't a bag, it's a clutch - right?
Chic on the Cheap
No matter how you create your outfits, you always look gorgeous. I love that shirt! Give me!
ReplyDeleteThat whole bear thing is so scary. I couldn't believe that when you tweeted the pic. I showed Ian and his eyes went all cartoon buggy! I think I even heard that WAH WOAAAA sound.
Don't get eaten by a bear. I would miss you.
xoxo,
Tracy
Your earrings are intriguing. And I'll bet they'd be hard for an animal to digest...
ReplyDeleteI construct outfits both ways and was surprised to learn that my outfits look better after trial-and-error. When I plan them ahead in my mind, my imagination isn't as good as my judgment on the fly and often my ideas sink like lead balloons.
I refuse to go camping because I am afraid of bears. They are no joke. There is no reasoning with a bear.
ReplyDeletelovely pairing of the red clutch with the black and white outfit!
ReplyDeleteoh my god that is so scary about the bear!! i would definitely not go further than my deck!
ReplyDeletebeautiful outfit, love the urban outfitters clothes!
Journal De Mode
OMG - a bear! Brings to mind all the movies I've seen with bears. The long earrings you have on are intriguing and very pretty
ReplyDeleteSo freaky that you posted about bears. I just finished a book at the beach about a dude that got eaten by a polar bear up in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteYikes!
Love the outfit.
sometimes I dream about outfits in my head, but most of the time I throw them together in the closet.
Not a big planner.
Brett
Love the outfit! And oh dear...big teddy bear, I would be so freaked out, haha XD
ReplyDeleteand yes, a huge blogger meetup would be SO awesome!
http://www.closet-fashionista.com/
such a gorgeous outfit and such a gorgeous girl! i love that skirt!
ReplyDelete<3 steffy
Steffys Pros and Cons
Wow! A bear! I've never seen a real bear before (well, I did at the zoo. That doesn't count.) Be careful out there. I sure hope you don't have any small pets...
ReplyDeleteThat is so scary! I would definitely not leave the deck either. Cute outfit though, I love the skirt.
ReplyDeleteA black bear?!
ReplyDeleteThankfully you are safe, because otherwise there would be no beautiful pictures like those appearing today. You have such stunning skin and eyes. Oh--oh, and clothes, too! :) No, really, I was reading something about French women--how they emit beauty and chicness so naturally that you almost don't notice their clothes because of the whole effect. That's you. Definitely.
A bear?!? OMG! Poor Ashley... Nice, lady-look! Very chic!! I dress according to my mood - sometimes it's in my head and sometimes it just doesn't work... Kisses :)
ReplyDeleteI tried not typing it, but here it is, "There's a bear in my oatmeal!" Sorry, it's the first thing that came to mind. I hate Family Guy, but I've had that line in my head for years now.
ReplyDeleteAnyways...I love how you put this outfit together. I never really plan my outfits, but I'm always happy when my mashups work out well:) xx
Love this outfit! So classy! Great pop of colour from your clutch. And I love how you tied the belt
ReplyDeleteLyosha
Inside and Outside blog
I kind of like those days when there's nothing in mind. Blank canvas moments always remind me that I'm capable of being very creative on the absolute spur of the moment.
ReplyDeleteI really like this outfit. The splash of colour provided by the clutch offsets the demure ensemble and gives in sophistication.
Ummm, you saw a real.live.bear?!? Too crazy! You don't see stuff like that in Ohio. All I've ever seen are deer, HA.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I'm so crazy over your red Marc Jacobs clutch...Gorgeous!
Oh-my-god. Coming from England, you can probably imagine we don't really have bears roaming around in our back yards. We don't really have proper back yards! I remember when I went camping with some American friends when I was staying in the States, and them just saying in such a passive tone, 'we usually have bears around here'. My god, I was definitely sleeping in the lodge!
ReplyDeleteI make my outfits on the spot, and they're never as impressive as I hope they could be because I have about 5 minutes to jazz them up. Yours is gorgeous here, You look very chic, I love linen for the summer, especially when I'm working all hours.
Gorgeous as ever, Ashley.
Amy xx
Ack that sounds terrifying! I live in Canada and I've never even seen a bear (and I'm not exactly sure I would react sanely if I did!) I like your outfit- simple but chic and great earrings! I try to pick my outfit the night before because if I don't I end up disliking it (like today). P.S. I completely knew you were being humourous about 'the boy'- don't worry I was joking :)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! That is so scary!! At least it doesn't happen often. LOVE your outfit, ecspecially the skirt. I usually think about my outfits first but then they usually change as Im dressing in little ways. :)
ReplyDelete<3Chelsea Elizabeth
http://www.organizedxxmess.blogspot.com
I'd actually not worry at all about black bears. I grew up in the country and the only time bears are ever really a problem is when they start to associate your home with food. My uncle had to shoot a mother bear and her cub when they were continuously coming into his yard to rip open his garbage box and get into the garbage. But then we had a bear who lived in the back of our home for two years and we would see him nearly weekly and I wandered back in the forest often enough with no issue.
ReplyDeleteI tend to plan my outfits ahead, because if I try to just jump in and pick as I go, it winds up taking ridiculously long. It's always tough when I just purchased an item and have no history of styling to work with it.
it just depends for me. summer days i usually end up grabbing a pair of shorts and tee. but for work i pick it out the night before. i never have a 'vision' like you unfortunetly. i swear i forget what's in my closet and then rediscover it in waves. who knows?
ReplyDeletep.s. i still need your e-mail for the giveaway!
mermaidnotebook.blogspot.com
I only wish my yard looked like the backdrop on your deck!
ReplyDeleteI love how you made black and white look summery! Something I definitely have difficulty with.
I honestly hate the days when I have to thoroughly think out an outfit. Most of the time it just pops into my head, thank goodness. Otherwise, it feels like so much mental work!
B: My email is listed on the left-hand side of my blog!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very restricted future life - bound to the veranda... I'm a total outfit planner, theoretically - practically I throw on the clothes that are closest to my hands in the morning.
ReplyDeletedude I would be FREAKIN OUT. I used to be superscared of floods when I was a kid for god knows what reason, but a bear would be able to scare me into moving somewhere else, pretty sure of that. you look gawges once again, I love that pop of color clutch.
ReplyDeleteyikes, that is so scary! I would freak! I am terrified of most animals, though I've gotten over the dog fear (not cats though, plus they make me itch and sneeze and wheeze). I think you look so chic (and perhaps I've been watching too much Project Runway reruns because I've been loving that word lately haha).
ReplyDeletexx
Oh my goodness! A bear walking up your drive way? That is insane. I'm be terrified. I hope he doesn't come back.
ReplyDeleteOn a sartorial note, I am lovin' your clutch. Mr. Jacobs can do no wrong in my book!
xx Love & Aloha
Funny you should mention bears...Yesterday as I was walking around the UMD campus a bear came bounding towards me. It was scary.
ReplyDelete