Steinbeck Dust Bowl Meets Jenny from Forrest Gump: Contrastive Drama in a Crazy World
The world is getting crazy, people. We’ve got earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, Al Sharpton hosting a news show, and Emily (that’s me) braving ant colonies and drug busts to take outfit photos. Okay, the world has always been crazy and fashion blogging isn’t exactly on par with natural disasters. Forgive the blatant use of others’ misfortunes to make my own story more interesting, but I felt this post needed some sort of dramatic intro.
After all, it’s the drama I love about these pictures. Although my personality isn’t as “Ooh, I have a pouty face and a broken-up heart,” as these photos might imply, I do love a good smoky eye and black dress on occasion. When I snagged this belt at the thrift store in my home town I knew I had to wear it with something that played up its 70′s glam quality, and this versatile, blank palate of a maxi dress seemed perfect.
Dress (Ross, $12), belt (vintage, thrifted, $3), shoes (random wedding store), earrings (gift), drama (borrowed from Jenny, very difficult to maintain in real life).
Instead of just snapping my pictures against the requisite wall, I wandered out to a field and posed with this broken-down truck (to go with my broken-up heart). The juxtaposition of the glamorous black and gold outfit with the desaturated, peeling, crumbling truck and the dry fields makes me inordinately happy. I felt very “Steinbeck dust bowl meets disco-era Jenny from Forrest Gump (minus the coke high and the skeezy dudes).” I love dichotomies like this; contrast makes the world so interesting.
I may have forgotten to take off the string from the price tag. Whoops. 
I think I see a smile cracking. I can only pretend to be pouty for so long...
While climbing over ant hills (I sustained approximately 1000 bites) and negotiating scratchy briars I got involved in some genuine drama. It started with a few farm hands asking me if I’d “heard anything.” About what, I didn’t know. But soon enough a giant helicopter and a posse of squad cars converged on the farm, and I hightailed it out of there on the assumption that drugs or…I don’t know, serious racketeering were involved. (Really, I just wanted to write “racketeering). Somehow the coppers didn’t think to question the sketchy looking random who was tromping around in a slinky dress and heels. If anybody was suspicious in this scene, it was definitely me!
What’s your best crazy story involving outfit photos? Anyone else have fun cop tales to tell?
International...crime syndicate?
Normally I don’t comment, but this so made me laugh- can’t resist!
You were def. a mafia queen- how couldn’t they see it?!
)
Thanks for commenting!! So glad this story came across as funny. I was so baffled and completely amused. Ooh, and I really like the idea of being a mafia queen! Now all I need is some dudes to break knees on my behalf…
I nearly got run over by a train during a photo shoot in my hometown. No, just kidding. I did get yelled at by the railroad engineers for taking outfit photos by what I thought was an abandoned rail yard. (http://thriftaholic.blogspot.com/2011/05/choo-choo-all-aboard.html )
Your dress, jewelry and belt definitely scream ’70s glam, props on perfecting the pouty look too. I always have to smile in my photos because I look like I’ve just smelled something horrible otherwise, haha.
Oh what bloggers do for pictures!
i love how serious and sexy you look in these photos. that black dress is killer. and very fitting for riding old farm equipment. now, how to make irreverence come across in a single look? i have not yet figured it out.
i am not brave when it comes to outfit photos. mostly i take them in alleys, quickly, and when i see someone coming i look to the clouds and pretend i have no idea what was just happening.
1: Looking at clouds is brilliant. Who can object to that?
2: I’m a very serious person. You know this from personal experience. I never joke.
3: Irreverence=best virtue ever.
Em these photos are killer – seriously rocking every shot. And I’m pretty sure that if coppers saw a nicely dressed lady frolicking in this random area I highly doubt they would think it was suspicous activity….just sayin’.
The pic of you in the cab of the truck could be an anthro cover. Awesome.
I hide. I’m getting braver, but yeah, right now I hide.
Anthro cover?! This comment makes me wish to marry you.
Ha, ha … that cracks me up. How to get away with a crime: wear heels & no-one will suspect you of anything. Love these photos too … wish I could find a field with some old cars to take photos in (minus the criminals of course).
Kelly @
Elegantly Academic
This is the most incredibly beautiful outfit and post. I love the belt and the pouty face and your intense eye makeup.
The closest I’ve come to outfit shot adventure is posing behind the closed body shop today, coming around the corner to find a kid in a game of hide and seek. Oh, and I almost got attacked by a momma goose once- that was exciting.
Since I rarely leave my yard to take pictures, I unfortunately lack high-drama outfit-shoot stories. Clearly this must be rectified soon.
One detail I do not lack for, however, is the errant thrift store tag that reamins undiscovered until photo editing time. Oh wellsies. Fashion bloggers are only human.
Forrest Gump may be sacharrine and overly sentimental, but I will always ALWAYS love it. After all, “I may not be a smart [wo]man, but I know what love is!”
You look incredible, and your pop culture references definitely come across in your photos. When you first mentioned Jenny from Forrest Gump, I was thinking you meant “there just aren’t enough rocks” Jenny, because of your beautiful rural setting. But I love the disco vibe you’ve got going on here. I can’t believe you almost walked into a drug bust!
I haven’t had any bad dealings with cops (yet), but I did stop taking photos at the parking deck because a police car patrolled right by me, and I definitely felt like a skeeze being there by myself — and realizing there were security cameras in the corners. As much as I worry about safety sometimes during these photo sessions, I realize that the sketchball is most often just me.
Oh oh, parking deck skeeze! Nah, you’re way too cute to be skeezy.
Love these photos! The scenery is fantastic with that dress What an exciting day! If that would have happened to me, I probably would have just had a classic panic attack…hahah.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I like what you said about the Norns! I think I might start telling that story too ^_^
http://www.thequirkypoet.blogspot.com
Finally, you posted the pictures! I have been waiting to see them again. I am amazed that is my girl. How beautiful you truly are!!!
What is more amazing that this is a true story, out in the middle of an old field, abandoned silos, farm equipment, a caravan of police and a helicoptor to boot.
It would be surreal if it wasn’t that I its the truth.
Only you Em…
thank you for posting them for my enjoyment and the writing to go along with it. Love it
Mom
OMG, I am dying over this post. So, so, so gorgeous. I love the belt and the entire look and your.sexy .sexy lips! Total babe!!
WHOA. This outfit blows my mind! I love these photos–you’re gorgous and I just loved how you played up the 70s vibe of this outfit!! I always giggle over your writing–you’re such a talent. Miss you already!!!
Aww, thanks! Writing is the best part of blogging, I think…except having you take my photos.
COME HOME!
Wow! You look absolutely gorgeous! Smoky eye, pouty lips, lovely dress-seriously smokin’ hot! And these pictures are amazing!! (the second one is my fave!!) I love it!
Emily you look stunning in that black dress! I have only recently started thrifting but I found an amazing green snakeskin belt for $1 last week. Buying vintage and going thrifting are too different things I’ve learned. Thrifting is actually more fun!
Anyway, that set is awesome. You couldn’t build a better set artificially on a soundlot in Hollywood. The background really makes you pop.
It wasn’t a drug bust! They were just recovering that dead guy’s body. You know the one who walked himself to death around that silo looking for a corner to pee in. (I had to say this for your brother) On a completely different note, I love your outfit and eye makeup in these pictures. You look quite the model with the pouty look I must say. I’m pretty my mother had that exact belt and used to wear it with an awesome power suit. So that’s all for my random commenting. I think you’re awesome and don’t judge my terrible grammer please.
Holy F! You are amazingly model pouty face pretty! I want that belt!!
LOVE the drama! Girl, what good facial structure you have. If grad school doesn’t work out for you I think you could definitely be a pouty, slinky model.
I love the contrast in these photos as well, how beautiful the weeds and the rusty old truck look, in a totally different (but not mutually exclusive) way from the beauty of you and your smoky eyes and black dress. So beautiful I think I could write a paper about it!
You should write a paper! And I’ll edit it and then we’ll talk about how pretty I am again, so I can have a big head full of fashion instead of one that’s devoted to academics.
Them’s some dramatic pictures, lady. And you look bomb-ass awesome in every one. Jenny ain’t got nothin’ on your sultriness.
LOVE this photo shoot. Love your look. Rock on! Who DOESN’T love a good smoky eye and a black dress?!
I am IN LOVE with this outfit!! I want to take it and wear it to my prom that was ten years ago.
You look gorgeous! Amazing photos!!