Sun Hat: Nine West
T-Shirt: Homesick Clothing Co
Overalls: Nordstrom
Ankle Boots: Forever 21
Backpack: Target
I wore this outfit to Coachella (which was magical, but more on that later). The lovely Ari of Homesick Clothing Co sent me this rad "Homesick for Chicago" shirt, and I pretty much built my outfit around this tee because I really wanted to wear it to Coachella. So I teamed the shirt with overalls, an obnoxiously large sun hat, and boots to sport a typical music festival look. For the cherry on top, I carried all my stuff (DSLR camera, wallet, extra phone batteries, power bank, can you tell I'm on my cellular device a lot?) in a tribal print backpack. If you're looking for a fuss-free festival look, I recommend the overall shorts & crop top duo. It's lightweight and well-ventilated, so it's perfect for dancing under the desert sun and the neon-colored Coachella lights.
Before I plop in some music by The Weeknd (who was incredible at Coachella, btw), I wanna say a few more words about Homesick Clothing Co. I've completely and irrevocably fallen in love with this Chicago-based brand. Its emotive shirts combine minimalist design with nostalgic words to slam you with the heart-wrenching feeling of missing somebody or someplace.
On Homesick's website, the brand's founder and designer Ari Winholt writes:
"Homesick is the word I use to describe the brief second when my heart stops beating and the core of my gut is aimlessly pulling at all of my emotions.
It’s the unsettling feeling of the words that were never spoken.
It’s the jumbled bits of life that don’t seem to fit the puzzle.
Maybe it’s the set of misplaced keys that will be forever hidden or the damaged relationship that was unintentionally broken.
But most of all, it’s the monster of the past. It feeds off of change and distracts one’s eyes from anything new. It’s haunting and constricting. It prohibits acceleration. Victims barely notice how deep they’ve been lured in, captivated completely.
There is chance for escape but one must be willing to let go.
The idea of homesickness and finding the willingness to let go of the past consumed me. From this point on, I wanted to change. Instead of focusing on what I didn't have, I was inspired to discover joy within every day: family, art, culture, music, literature, nature, spirituality, love, and freedom. Homesick is a reminder that it's okay to not know where I'm going in life's journey. It's my hope for answers. It's my appreciation for where I've been and it gives me courage to keep moving forward. I think I’m finally on the right path to finding my special place. I hope someday soon you will be too, if you aren’t already."
These words resonated with me in so many ways, so when Ari asked me to choose two of my favorite shirts from the collection, I had a difficult time deciding which two I wanted. One of the tees I ended up selecting (the other one will be featured in the next blogpost #staytuned), was this "Homesick for Chicago" shirt. I ended up going with this one because my memories of Chicago will always make me homesick for a place & a time.
In college, Chicago was my escape. I constantly felt caged and bored during my time at Notre Dame, so I'd take the South Shore Line from South Bend to Chicago in order to feel alive again. There was just something about the city lights, the tall buildings, the graffiti'd neighborhoods (Gino's deep dish pizza/the Bean/the Art Institute/Logan Square) that felt like home. And because I didn't feel very much at home on my college campus, Chicago became a source of both the comfort and the adventure I craved.
(I will also always, always cry every time I watch this scene from The Vow. When it pans to the Chicago skyline and then the Bean, ugh, I bawl uncontrollably every time. Every. Single. Time.)
Music
xx
