time ain’t gonna cure you honey, time don’t give a shit

Distressed Sweater: Forever 21, Plaid Skirt: Zara, Plaid Blouse: Thrifted and DIY, Jeans: Topshop Joni Jeans, Booties: Topshop Sock Boots

In this week’s post, I’m rocking another big trend of the moment – the check pattern that we’ve been seeing everywhere this season. Typically found on blazers and more work wear pieces, this pattern has made it’s way onto every other piece of clothing imaginable from skirts to blouses to pants to coats, you name it. If you’re looking for a classic check blazer, definitely check out Zara (hmm see what I did there?). They have tons of them in store right now, from the more classic, tapered fitting ones to the trendy oversized ones. I would dress down a checked blazer by layering it over a graphic band tee and pairing it with black skinnies.

For my outfits this week, I wanted to incorporate this checked pattern in a more non-traditional way, so I opted for a feminine checked skirt and a checked blouse that I happened to find at the thrift store! The skirt is from Zara (told you, Zara has TONS of checked stuff right now), and I particularly love this one because of the high waist and the ruffle hem, giving it a very pretty and girly vibe. I wanted to contrast the femininity of the skirt with something more rugged so I paired it with this cropped distressed black sweater.  For the blouse that I’m wearing in my second outfit, I happened to stumble across it at my local Salvation Army thrift store, and I knew I had to grab it because the check pattern on it was perfect for this trend. This just goes to show that you can still find trendy pieces by shopping at the thrift! I simply made some minor tweaks to the blouse (cut out the shoulder pads and cut off the ugly black elastic band at the hem), and now I love it! I decided to keep the hem of the blouse raw after cutting it because one, I’m lazy and didn’t feel like sewing it, and two, I also love how it gives it a more badass vibe.

Speaking of badass, this brings me to this week’s song, a song by a band that makes me feel badass every time I listen to them, and a band that is fronted by one of the most badass babes in the music industry – The Kills! I’ve been a fan of the Kills for over a decade now, having discovered them in my early high school days when their raw, alternative bluesy rock sound really spoke to me. Alison Mosshart, the lead vocalist and frontwoman for the band, was everything I aspired to be. Seeing her live and seeing her command the stage every time just reconfirmed what I already knew about her – she is one badass megababe who just does her own thing.

This week’s song, Tape Song, is one of my favorites by The Kills.  This song is like a reminder from your best friend when you’re feeling at your lowest, having them tell you to get your shit together, be strong, and face your problems head-on. Whether it be a relationship issue where you know it’s not going to work out, or a more personal issue, this song reminds you that you as an individual are capable of finding that inner strength to face your issues.  Temporary fixes (like cheap glue, tape or bandaids) may make things seem better in the moment without actually fixing them in the long term. Another thing is time.  Time, something that many people say can heal anything, does not actually heal all wounds. In fact, in situations where you know there is no solution but to move on or get help, time can make it worse and bring upon other problems. The longer you allow time to go on without facing an issue head on, the longer you are allowing that issue to persist and weaken you even more. So it’s not about giving it time to heal our wounds, it’s about us being strong enough to deal with it and create a brighter future for ourselves. Whether you know it or not, we already all have that strength within ourselves.