A Picture's Worth a Thousand Nerds (Because the T-Rhyme is Unseemly)

Howlite Delight Necklace

Sweatshirt: One, Marshalls

Jeans: Vanilla Star, Target

Bag: Olivia Miller, J. C. Penney's

Shoes: Charles Albert, A. C. Moore

Sunflower barrette: The Tote Trove

Yellow bracelet: Amrita Singh, Zulily

Flower bracelet: Mixit, J. C. Penney's

Pizza barrette: The Tote Trove

As you know, I'm a big fan of Pinterest.  It's fun to scroll through endless screens of shape and color, the images a kaleidoscopic carnival of creativity.  But sometimes Pinterest is more upsetting than soothing.  Because the pictures are so perfect.  Just the right brightness and placement, every detail razor sharp.  And that can make an amateur photographer such as myself feel a little discouraged.  We've all been there.  You painstakingly prep your pics, whittle them down to a chosen few, then put your best foot forward into cyberspace only to have another, bigger foot (or, big feet being about as popular as Smoky the Bear at a bonfire, a smaller foot) in a Louboutin stomp on you, reminding you that no matter how hard you try, you will always be a bargain basement Steve Madden.  It's like when you get all dressed up for the big dance in your new rainbow rhinestoned black dress and look in the mirror and feel foxy only to arrive at the school gym and see your arch nemesis Brittany McDonald (no relation to Ronald) wearing a black dress that lights up plus a tiara.  (You know, if it were 1985 and you went to a school where such things were cool instead of landing you in a Dumpster.)  Whenever I feel this way, I back away from my computer and try to focus on something real.  Like my latest craft project.  Or reading.  Or planning my outfit for the bloggers' ball.  (What?  The bloggers' ball isn't a thing?  Then BigBlogger666 has some explaining to do and a rainbow rhinestone dress to return.)  I also try to remember that 1) my best isn't the same as someone else's best, especially a someone with Photoshop and a much more sophisticated knowledge of filters, and 2) that I love fashion because, unlike in math and Sudoku, there's room for everything and there are no wrong answers.

Last weekend I was getting dressed to run errands (by which, of course, I mean go shopping), when I thought, I really like this outfit and want to photograph it before putting it on.  Usually, this isn't how I come up with my post outfits.  I put them together to go with the jewelry I've made.  And yeah, I end up wearing lot of them IRL.  But even then it's the jewelry driving the bus.  So, I get a little jolt when it happens spontaneously.  This time was no different.  I set up the shot, got out my camera, and made my edits -- only to have the picture not look nearly as good as the in-the-flesh (in-the-cotton?) version.  I grunted and stewed; I adjusted the flat lay and took some more shots.  But then I decided that it was okay just the way it was.  Because what is this blog if not a chronicle of my efforts, the good, the bad, and the what-was-I-thinking?  The hiccups are what make it interesting -- even if, especially if -- they're hiccups only in my mind. 

Also, bargain basement Steve Madden is nothing to sneeze at.  Unless you really are Steve, in which case the bargain is cutting into your profits.  Or unless it's mold in the basement that's causing you to be tempted to sneeze.

I'm so glad I'm not (really) Steve Madden.