Reality Bites.

(Please excuse the messy art room!)

Adorable velvety '90s dress: Maude Loves Harold Vintage (best name ever, and thank you!!)
Bag: Thrifted
Boots: ? These are so old and I haven't worn them in ages, but they are clunky and awesome.

I never actually got to dress like this in the '90s because I was still a kid during the My-So-Called-Life/Reality Bites/Empire Records era. But I specifically remember looking up to those people and wanting to be very Angela Chase and Winona Ryder when I grew up-- all flannel shirts and red lipstick and casual dresses with boots. The closest I came was in middle school when I discovered Nirvana and wore a flannel shirt with everything, but by that time it was 1997 and I had missed the boat (I always miss the boat).

I still adore this style though, because I romanticized it so much as a pre-teen and it's hard to forget those things. It reminds me of listening to the Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana and Hole, and being all angsty and woe-is-me in middle school. Which is perfectly fine when looking back on it, but I certainly wouldn't want to repeat it. (sidenote: still love those bands, of course. I saw SP last year and it was lovely but not quite what I imagined as a kid!)

I really shouldn't have bought a new dress, but I saw this one and almost died because it was exactly what I was looking for. I'm on a mission to find more dresses like this, and I really need a pair of doc martens. I'm ashamed to say I've never had a pair, and after Isabel's extreme good luck of thrifting two pairs (one is purple!) I am completely obsessed.

You know something else.. Reality Bites is almost scarily relevant to my life right now. After finishing grad school next year I will be faced with actually trying to find a job in this economy (thank you, economy collapse, for coinciding with my college graduations!) and I'm still coping with paying bills and having lots of responsibilities and blah blah blah.

I feel absolutely amazing in this outfit, by the way. The dress is so flowy and comfortable and it's sort of warm outside today, so I've ditched the usual tights in my attempt to not be afraid of having bare legs.

Also, I really want to thank everyone for the wonderful comments that I've been receiving lately! Everyone has been so incredibly encouraging and supportive and you really have no idea how much it means to me. ♥ I've subscribed and linked to so many fantastic new blogs, and receiving positive feedback from bloggers that I respect and admire has meant the world to me! So thank you guys a ton.