05 June 2011

FASHION // i wish i was a ballerina

I took a ballet class. Once. When I was six or seven. I had a little black leotard and everything. I dropped out after one class because the teacher was quite possibly the spawn of Satan.

I've always kind of wished I'd stuck it out and kept dancing. I'm quite possibly the klutziest person you will ever meet — disaster finds me like I have a tracker on my ankle — and maybe dancing would have changed that, or at least have made me a graceful klutz. 

Also, I am really not good at dancing, ballet or otherwise — I blame this on my father's genes, since he is a self-proclaimed horrible dancer. My friend Sam tried to get me to take hip-hop with her, and while I know it would be fun, I also know I would make a complete and utter idiot of myself.

Thus, I am totally in awe of anyone who dances, especially ballet. I like to pretend I'm a ballerina and wear my hair up in a bun sometimes, so people will assume I'm graceful and all that. (That's the theory anyways.) I don't wear a lot of flats — the only pair I have are from American Eagle and look more like moccasins — but I try to be a ballerina in other ways. Like finding floaty skirts and patterned tights. Those seem sort of ballerina-ish, right?



But for some reason, more than the skirts or the flats or the buns, the thing that makes me feel the most effortlessly graceful (that's what I associate with ballerinas as a personality type, even though I know that isn't 100% true) are big sweaters.

I know. Weird, right?

I don't mean man sweaters (though I do have those too — thanks Dad), I mean long sweaters with extra-long sleeves you can wrap around your hands and off-the shoulder necklines. Vaguely formfitting, but not anywhere near tight.

I have very specific requirements for the Perfect I-Am-A-Fake-Ballerina sweater... and, thus, I have never found the perfect one. But at Goodwill yesterday, I found something extremely close. If the neckline was a little larger — just a few inches on the sides — it would be exactly perfect. 

But as it is, I am completely in love with my $2.50 sweater. It's originally from Forever21 and it's crazily soft and comfortable. And I don't feel like a slob wearing it, like I usually do when wearing comfortable things. (Think sweatpants, leggings, Uggs, flannel shirts, ponytails.)

Here is the beautiful ballerina sweater, with American Eagle shorts, an Anne Klein belt ($3, also Goodwill) and a scarf hand-painted by Sam's mother. (Muchas gracias, Rachel!)




{I also found a pair of high-waisted sailor shorts, also $2.50; a pack of Madonna-esque jelly bracelets, 98¢, a pack of thin leather bracelets, 98¢; and a set of three colors of chunky hoop earrings, 98¢. Have I ever mentioned how much I adore Goodwill? So much weird stuff.}

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And this is from yesterday. Hope and I walked the 4.3 miles from my house to Goodwill, both wearing dresses. We felt very vintage and summery.



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PS: I've gotten a weirdly huge amount of emails (I'm talking several dozen) from people in the past two weeks asking if I can guest post or donate to their giveaways. I'm totally swamped right now, guys, sorry — I'm still in school, we have exams coming up, and I barely have enough time to keep horsefeathers running.
Please, no more until July. I feel bad turning everyone down.
{This is also why I haven't been commenting on many blogs lately — I still read your posts, I just keep wanting to comment and having to do something else. Thus, in this post I would like to request that:

everyone wish Hannah a happy birthday, 

everyone ooh and ahh over carlotta's usual beautiful posts (I'm guest posting on the 8th, so make sure to stop by!),

everyone gawk at Casey's gorgeous hair and outfit,

everyone vote on hayley's poll,

everyone do Le Happy's hair "tutorial" (I know I will be!),

and everyone congratulate Sally on finishing her SATs.

Okay? Love you all!}

26 comments:

  1. awesome finds!! I love goodwill. My little sister is a ballerina, but not me! I tried too but I fell in love with Irish dance and have been doing it for four years. Anyway, great post!

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  2. Haha. I love the sweater. I kind of get what you mean about it being ballet-ish-y. I've done ballet for years so I've never really had that feeling exactly. haha love both of the outfits though!
    You must have a great goodwill. The ones in Tennessee could use a little help. haha
    Love,
    Tessa Brooke

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  3. Lovely post Olivia, as always! Love the hairstyles -- especially the high bun.

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  4. Love this post! I used to do ballet too, and now I wish I'd suck to it. Lovely post!

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  5. Lovely post! I'm a dancer, erm, used to be. I'll be starting back soon though. I do ballet, tap, jazz, and so on and so forth. :D What's weird is that my teachers were always saying how good I was at dance, but when I wasn't in class/recital I'm a total klutz too! Lol

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  6. Great post! I did try ballet once, but twisted my ankle during the first class and dropped out. So now my type of dancing is freestyle all the way! :P

    LOVE the clothes.

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  7. I've always wanted to be a ballerina, too, but I'm not flexible at all... Ah, well! That sweater is so cute, though if you wore it here this time of year you'd probably melt. :)
    Good luck with your exams & finishing up school!

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  8. I am a dancer {a ballerina, plus a pointe dancer (which is basically ballet up on your toes), a tap dancer, a jazz dancer, a hip-hop dancer, a lyrical (aka modern) dancer, and an Irish dancer . . . well, not currently, but I do it around the house. They stopped offering it at the studio I go to}, and I do associate those sweaters with being graceful, it's a lovely sweater, too! I am a klutz too, everywhere I go I am a klutz, except for when I dance. ;)

    Sorry that this is so long, I just love your blog and . . . I do not believe I have commented.

    ~Carolyn

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  9. Love your fake-ballerina-outfit -- too cute! I've been dancing for seven years and loooooove it. It's nice to have another dancer, pretend or not. ;) Thanks for the shoutout, chica! xo

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  10. You seriously need to fly yourself on over to New York City! You'd fit right on in with everyone there! I'm fortunate to go once a month (sometimes more) ... I can totally see you there! Imagine all the fantastic photos you'd be able to get!

    Awesome finds by the way! When I think of a ballerina sweater, I think of a sweater that goes a bit off of one shoulder ... I'll keep an eye out! Is that weird? Ignore that if it is!

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  11. Everyone says that I have the body of a dancer...unfortunately, I, like you, am way too clumsy. Sigh. Though I would love to take ballet up sometime...
    And yes. I have been getting a crazy amount of emails asking to guest post as well! My June is busy enough already, but I still feel bad about turning them down.
    Oh, and thanks for the shoutout! you're too sweet :)

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  12. I wished I would have stuck out ballet too.. I took 4 years but after that i quiet. I still remember a lot but i am SO ungraceful full.. BTW i'm going to be using graceful klutz to describe my self sometimes if thats ok :) lol

    LOVE your outfit. I like Goodwill too but the one in our town kind of sucks and the best one is about a 1/2 and hour away :( I still enjoy going though :)

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  13. I've taken ballet for about nine years, and I am totally the clumsiest person on earth. Really, it hasn't made me graceful, except on stage.

    I love dancing but I have zero capability to do anything like a normal person without crashing or falling. :-/

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  14. Ooh, I love to dance! I just recently moved up to pointe sheos, and have been very excited. One thing I know makes dancers look graceful it the way they hold themselves. A good posture can make anyone look graceful. =)

    Love that sweater, and the dress! Keep shopping at Goodwill, girl! About half my closet is from there.

    4 miles? Wow! That's great.
    ((hugs))
    ~b

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  15. I love ballet - I've been doing it for seven years and this past year was my first year en pointe! It's a blast... now if only I could have that ridiculously fast metabolism that every one else that dances seems to be blessed with...
    --Love MCat
    {glitteringcompositions.blogspot.com}

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  16. I used to do ballet when I was younger, but then my ballet teacher broke her ankle! End of ballet dancing! Then when I wanted to start back at it, I was too old, and ohhh!
    But I do Irish dancing, and it is so much fun and very cool : ) (when we get it up to scratch!)
    Love your outfit. It's so summery and pretty. I love dresses like that. (and good bargains like that!)

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  17. Ballet is so nice. Now I wish I learned ballet so I could be a ballerina, too. But it's too late. :( Oh, I love both of your outfits!

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  18. Great bargains Olivia. I'm an ex-ballet dancer myself. To think, I once had rhythm and movement when I danced! I've been trying to compensate for my lack of skills in that area though by looking up dancing vids on YouTube (because YouTube has a video on just about everything). You know, simple dance moves that only look complicated but fool everyone else into thinking you can dance!

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  19. I have been taking ballet for 10 year's and you for sure- pull off the look. LOVE the sweater!! Your so fashionable. And the belt? genius!

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  20. I did ballet for 10 years... it got so hard and uptight! But I adore what I do now so much more.

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  21. I'm such a klutz too! Not to mention, a terrible dancer. But for some reason, I believe that if I practice hard enough on dancing, I can dance gracefully. My idol is a multi-talented Korean entertainer who was also a horrible dancer. But after few years of training and hard work, he can now dance to some of Micheal Jackson's songs. He is amazing! He is Lee Seung Gi!

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  22. haha, I've always wanted to be a graceful ballerina too! I even tried it when I was like, eh, three. but all i remember is that i thought it was boring. ^__^

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  23. Yeah, it seems like everyone I know (including me) has taken ballet when they were little and then quit. I quit because we never did ballet, just these ballet exercises. I would have stayed if someone told me we would dance later on.

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  24. I quit too. story of a teenage girls life. :) ha. just kidding but some people i know are still in it.

    I included one of your photos in my blog post, http://clickandcapturephoto.blogspot.com/2011/06/inspiration-door.html

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  25. I know exactly what you're talking about.
    I have one that is actually a very old, very worn out sweater from my mom's highschool.
    I wear it to dance allllllllll the time in the winter when it's freezing in the studio. Paired with leg warmers, I feel like a professional ballerina.

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