Organic by John Patrick tank dress (organic cotton – made in the US) | medium – via credits at Garmentory,
use my REFERRAL LINK for a $20 credit – also 20% off at The Dreslyn
The Great boxy denim jacket (made in the US) | size 1 via credits at Shopbop
Beek Finch sandals (handmade in Mexico) | true to size
3.1 Phillip Lim large ryder satchel (made in China) | small embossed version, secondhand option
JP will always and forever be James Perse, but as I try to purchase more organic cotton pieces to replace conventional cotton items in my closet, I will hopefully be adding in more Organic by John Patrick. I had one Organic cardigan that was 7 years old (purchased from Beklina) I gave to my sister because it didn’t fit anymore, but I always loved, and I do have a wool sweater I got this winter, but this is my first organic cotton piece from the brand (I ordered it late last week with credits I earn at Garmentory and it arrived on Monday).
I did not get a good shot of the dress without the jacket on top, but it is a very nice scoop neck and the sleeves are bra-friendly (with ANY kind of bra, not exclusively racerback), which was really important for me. I got it to replace my Splendid maxi dress that’s about served it’s purpose for wearing out in public (I will continue to wear it at home, but it’s quite worn looking at this point), and I am all about the midi length lately, and wanted something a little shorter.
I love the hemline, although I’m a teeny bit concerned about the raw hem over time and with washing. I love raw hems, but most I see in higher-end garments are stitched up about 1/4 inch above the hem so it will never unravel too far. So I may take this to my tailor and have her add that at some point.
The dress is not fitted at all, which I also appreciate. It’s just a great, easy, casual tank dress – an essential basic for me. I will wear it alone, layered, with sneakers, sandals, etc., etc. Next, I have my eye on this thin strap tank top and eventually the 3/4 sleeve top. I also love the sweaters, which are on sale now at Organic by John Patrick’s site.
Now, hair. If you’ve been with me for a few years, you know I’ve been through A LOT of hair styles: long & straight, pixie, bob, etc., etc. I decided recently that I was going to try and grow my hair out a bit, to a few more inches longer than it is now – just to see how I like it. I’d been very happy with it at just above shoulder length, but I never stick with a hair style for too long, not because I don’t like it necessarily, mostly because I’m always wanting to try something new. Story of my life…
I’m excited about growing it out, and can’t wait until it gets past this bad stage where it curls up right below my shoulder blades – I HATE that. And I like to wear it down, but since I haven’t had “long” hair in such a long time, I’ve forgotten how much it can get in the way! And as soon as I tuck it behind my ear, or put it back in a ponytail, my “hairstyle” is changed; there’s a crimp in the back or on the sides, so it never hangs straight again. And I typically wear my hair back or up all the time lately. I go to Pure Barre 5x a week and am outside all the time with the dog, and it’s getting HOT. I do not like hair on my neck when it’s hot.
I also hate to wash my hair and do it as infrequently as possible.
So here’s my question: if you have long-ish hair, what products do you swear by, how do you wear it, what is your styling routine? I try different styles with it “up” but I don’t like to use a lot of product since I don’t like to wash my hair very often, so the styles don’t “stick” generally. Oh, and although I have a lot of hair, it’s rather fine, and STRAIGHT STRAIGHT STRAIGHT, which is a challenge in itself! I’m always looking for products to add texture and volume, but since my hair is so blonde at the ends lately, I have a problem with it looking very dry all the time, no matter how much oil I use. And sometimes I feel like I use a LOT!
Thanks for your suggestions 🙂
*oh, and I know I don’t have to apologize, but I am really struggling with my photography lately. I’ve created a “studio” in my garage, so I don’t always have to depend on taking photos outside in front of the garage door, but it’s a natural light studio LOL so it still depends on the lighting outside, and it’s been rainy and gross lately, which makes it a real challenge to get enough light in to get nice clear photos. So, sorry for the grainy photos 🙁
Photos are fine – and I like the jean jacket with the tank dress. I think your hair looks just fine and I get you – so annoying when you’re trying to grow it out!
thanks chris 🙂 the photos are okay, i know, but i would like them to be better!! i’m working on it…
oh, and my friend tells me all the time my hair looks fine, she thinks i’m crazy when i fuss about it, but i just want it to be longer already LOL all grown out!
I have the same hair: very fine, very straight, and cut into a shoulder-length bob. I wash every other day and use aerosol dry shampoo (Umberto Bev Hills, found at Target) on dry days. I usually wind it into a top-knot to keep it out of my face at work and secure with a hair-tie wound twice around on my freshly washed days. For second-day hair, I will often wear it down, but with a small octopus clip or barette to keep it out of my face. After a really sweaty workout in the evenings, I usually rinse my hair and apply a little conditioner to the ends to maintain moisture. My hair also creases when it even sees a ponytail, so I always use the top-knot. If I do get a crease, the half-up, half-down of the octopus clip usually disguises it. My caveat is that I live in the SF area where it never is really hot or cold, so I don’t mind my hair being down!
thanks for your suggestions emily. i have no idea how to do a top knot though !! guess i should google it 😉
I have your hair type – thick but extremely fine. The worst of both worlds, as my stylist says. Until very recently I kept it long – about 4-5″ below the collarbone. Layers are essential to create the illusion of body and lift with that hair type. Most days I wore it in a messy or sleek bun, depending on the occasion. I searched far and wide and never found anything that would keep a wavy or textured style looking good for long, especially in the summer months. I recently cut my hair to shoulder length and it’s the best thing ever! My dry time after a shower has cut down in half. I wear my hair down and style it far more often now. (I just noticed on Netflix that I have the same cut as Chelsea Handler wears on her new sort-of-talk-show.) It looks like about the same length as yours – I can pull it back for working out and I can still work it in to a small bun or twist if I want to try an undo.
Tip for anyone with fine hair: use Phyto Phytolisse as a detangler after showering. It’s marketed as a shine serum but there’s something magic in there that makes it easy to comb out fine hair, which will become especially important as your hair gets longer. When my hair was long I used 3-4 pumps right after the shower and it was a miracle.
Tip for long, fine hair: braid it for workouts instead of a regular ponytail. It looks childish but dramatically cuts down on the tangles and knots you have to deal with post-workout.
One of the best products I’ve tried is the Arrojo Wave Mist! It’s a sea salt spray but it’s super light and not sticky, so it adds a nice texture but you can sleep with it and it doesn’t feel heavy or sticky, and the bit of salt in it can help dry up oil. I didn’t find it too drying on my ends either and I have highlights. It also smells amazing, like lychee but the scent is so light and doesn’t compete with perfume or smell so strong other people would smell it unless they were hugging you or something. It adds texture and body for me, and it works well the next morning to reactivate any products you had in your hair the day before and to let waves form again after they were flattened. I don’t work for them or anything, I just love this product!
Oh, I feel you on the hair thing! I tried to grow mine out and just ultimately decided I was a short hair person. Getting past the awkward stages is tough. (Sorry, no advice.)
PS. when I moved my photography inside I bought a couple of big studio lights on Amazon pretty inexpensively. Helps a lot, especially on rainy days, though I think your photos look fine.
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i will probably cut my hair short again eventually, because I love it at around shoulder length, but i am SO committed at this point to growing it out. stubborn LOL – i just want to see what it’s like…
your hair is SO CUTE SHORT.
I swear by my Mason Pearson mixed bristle brush, especially since I wash my hair every other day. It spreads my head’s natural oils and controls my cowlicks. It also controls my dandruff (TMI? Sorry) better than any hair product I ever tried. I give my hair a thorough brushing 2-3 times a day and that’s it. Oh, my hair is thin but I have lots of it and about 3 inches below my shoulders. I use almost no product and I don’t blow dry.
ok. so now i have to admit i JUST bought a hairbrush. i haven’t brushed my hair since it was very long, a few years ago. i know 🙁
i combed it after i washed it, and that was it, the rest of the time, i just used my fingers to do whatever. i was always afraid of taking away whatever texture my hair had by brushing it. anyway, i mentioned to my friend the other day that i don’t brush my hair and she proceeded to rib me about it to no end…so i bought a brush, a wet brush, which i’ve used a few times. and i think i like it! i don’t know when i’ll be able to buy a mason pearson, but i think i’m a brush convert LOL – it certainly makes my hair look ‘healthier’
thanks for your suggestion!!
Good Morning
Long time blonde highlighter here, and my hair has been much healthier with the addition of Crack.
http://crackhairfix.com
The creme, I use before drying. Try not to wash daily but with exercise I pretty much have to. Pureology Hydrate is it for shampoo and conditioner, my hair takes a beating but this stuff saves it.
Have a great day ladies.
I have shoulder-length, fine hair but LOTS of it — and I hate washing it so often too! I usually go with a texturizing spray. Living Proof Texturizing Mist and Davines This is a Sea Salt Spray are my go-tos, especially on 2nd and 3rd day hair to give it body and distract from any oil building up. Also, I second the comment about layers. I had a Lob last year that was cute when it was the right length, but grew out terribly. Layers are a lifesaver with this hair type, I think!
I love that dress and jacket. So nice on you!
I just chopped about 4 inches off of my hair and now have a “lob” inspired by Lucy Hale’s hair. http://stylecaster.com/beauty/lucy-hale-dark-lipstick-amas/
When my hair was long, I always wore it up because it was limp when straight or just would not curl right. I have some natural wave in my hair but when it is long, it is way too heavy. Now that I have the “lob” I can wear my hair curly or straight and they both look good. I only wear my hair up when working out. I am a every 2-3 day shampooer and just discover the whole “no poo” thing. Devacurl is such an amazing product and my hair has never looked or felt better – straight or curly. http://www.devacurl.com/products.html?gclid=CL_lktHo9cwCFYNsfgodqXUGKg For reference, I have fine hair but lots of it.
I really like your hair shoulder length and feel like it suits your face well. I loved when you had the front longer and lighter than the rest. Very sassy 🙂 And yes, layers are great for all lengths of hair.
I think Bass brushes are fine. My hair is just recently long enough to brush again, and I am so far unconvinced that a Mason Pearson upgrade is necessary. 😉
I have hair similar to yours — extremely fine and straight, the sort of hair that mediocre stylists hate because mistakes are glaring. Every few years I grow it out to about the nape of my neck and then chop it crazy short. I don’t have the patience to go any longer than that, and I don’t want to become one of those “ponytail all the time” people.
No advice product wise. I switched to JR Liggetts bar shampoo and I’m so happy with it. I wash my hair once or twice a week, brush a bit in the morning to put it in place and add volume; I literally don’t do anything else. Love not needing conditioner or detangler etc.
so funny you mention mediocre stylists…i could never go to a “cheap” place to get my haircut because inevitably the stylist would ruin it. and i always wondered, how do you mess up straight hair?? but it happened…i definitely get what i pay for in terms of cut now, and i PAY for it LOL – it’s wonderful though!
now that i’m thinking so much about hair, i want to cut it again !!! i loved it so much just about an inch above my shoulders, with pieces longer in the front, all choppy. sigh. and i never wanted to be a ponytail all the time girl either, but that is totally what is happening. ugh. why am i growing it out again??
I bought my Mason Pearson brush in 1988 and still use it, so it’s worth my investment!! O have fin hair – used to have a lot but not so much now, but I have a little more body/wave then I used to. Hormones, age, who knows (not yet menopause, which I know has changed texture of some of my friends’ hair. I alternste between chin length (now) and just below my collarbone. Longer is easier for travel (a quick French twist is great for business travel) but it’s probably more flattering right now at ear/chin ( I get a short dorky ponytail)
I have oily hair so I wash every day. Mousse or volume spray if I use the roller brush, salt spray if I’m doing a flat iron twist (the ” beachy” wave)
I really don’t like product though it’s growing on me. I use dry shampoos during travel too…
Hey Grechen, I love this outfit. Super cool and styley but easy too. Love the shape of that jacket! I’ve added some organic cotton with Kowtow (cardigan and sweatshirt) and am keen to try some of their summer cotton tees and dresses.
Hair, humm I’m growing mine too and trying for collarbone length. My hair is quite fine and gets a really irritating curl on the ends so I usually straighten it for the first two days then tie it back for the third day, wash on fourth day and start again. I use mousse for some body and sculpting paste to finish. I’m into more of a shag-style than a lob/bob. True be told, I freakin’ love a fashion mullet (80s gal here!).
Hey beautiful! I like the messy ponytail!
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Oh hair and being petite, am I right? I wear my hair long because it is very thick and s’wavy (which is to say definitely NOT straight but not always consistent in how curly it wants to be either). But I’m also small boned and short and LORD CAN THAT BUSINESS GET OVERWHELMING. Especially when, as right now, I have cut bangs to break up all the length. I wear my hair to between collarbone and bra strap so the weight tames the shape and because with small twins (11mo) and work, I prefer to be able to put it up in a bun with a pen or an elastic and bobby pin or two vs. having to wash / dry / product / straighten, which is generally my life with shoulder-length hair or shorter.
That said? This is where I excel and being earth-friendly. I wash my hair with baking soda about twice a week (sometimes more, sometimes less) and condition with a combo of distilled white vinegar diluted in water with essential oils and a little Honest detangling mist. Happy to provide more details if you want! My friend A has your hair texture and actually really enjoyed the same routine for a while as she felt the salts in the baking soda gave her more body. For me, I don’t have fly-aways or static in the winter, which is a godsend, and while I still have humidity curls (always and forever) in the summer, I find that leaving some of the natural oils in my hair gives me more weight, more control, and less overall frizz than shampoo afforded me. EVER. I wash with shampoo when I get my hair colored (3-4x per year) and on the rare occasion at home, and my hair tolerates the occasional foray into traditional products pretty well. YMMV.
🙂
um, yes, i need details please!! is baking soda safe for blonde highlights? i have no idea…can you give me an idea of the amounts you use of each thing?? i love this idea.
and OMG, i’m so glad i’m not the only one who feels like hair is just HARDER when you’re short. length, layers, whether your collarbone is showing, etc., etc., all of that completely changes my look, depending…
It’s really easy! And yes, I think it’s fine for blonde highlights because if anything you might go a smidgen lighter (I had blonde highlights when I started doing this in March 2012, but also played with a little lemon juice in my conditioner and spent time in the sun over the summer so that might have also contributed), but it won’t affect your color otherwise. Here’s my routine, and I use this with whatever coloring I’m doing (including red, which is notoriously finicky):
I have an 8oz wide-mouth Nalgene bottle . I put in 1-1.5T (more with more hair) and fill the bottle 2/3 of the way with hot, hot tap water and shake to mix. I top the bottle with cool water so I don’t burn my scalp (a plus).
I prepare and keep an 8oz spray bottle with 1/3-1/2 distilled white vinegar, essential oils (I put in enough to get the smell I want/cover the vinegar – it’s far from exact), and fill to full with cold tap water.
I wet my head in the shower and then reshake and massage the baking soda into my scalp with my finger tips and let it sit while I shave and otherwise do my shower stuff. Maybe 2-5 minutes? I rinse really well (massaging still).
I spray the vinegar solution (mostly, but not entirely) ears down and massage in and rinse out. If I can’t pretty easily run my fingers through my hair I repeat this step once.
Once out of the shower, I comb through with a wide comb. If it’s still a little tangly, I use a bit of the Honest detangling spray, though I’ve also used my vinegar spray as a leave-in conditioner with good success. I just am less easy about leaving vinegar on my hair long term too often. It’s a gentle acid, but still an acid.
You will probably want to tweak your amounts and routine to find what works best for you! It took me 6 weeks to really find the balance that was right for me, but that’s also because I was quickly stretching to 4-5 days or longer between washes. Some troubleshooting tips:
-Some people prefer apple cider vinegar, which has a higher (less acidic) pH than DWV. I found it harder to cover the smell and less effective for my thick, coarse, wavy hair.
-If you hair feels dry you are probably either not rinsing the BS completely or need more conditioner, but maybe also try a weaker concentration in your “shampoo”.
-If you hair feels greasy or heavy you are using too much vinegar — dilute more or use less — with straight, fine hair, I’d consider a 1:8 or 2:8 ratio to start because you can always spray more (leave-in style) to get a sense for what you need.
Hard water makes the routine a little more tricky because unlike shampoos and conditioners, there isn’t anything inherent in the mix to break down hard minerals. Some folks have luck boiling the hot water (I found it tedious and hard to store the mixture if I made more than one shampoo’s worth with little added benefit). Soft water makes the process super fantastic and wonderful.
It works for some and not for others. I’ve had people tell me my wet hair smells like “Aveda” (lavender and peppermint oil in spray), some days my hair is just so darn agreeable I can’t stop touching it.
It’s good to avoid -cone / -xane (silicone) hair products because they are hard to get out. If you use them, that’s fine, but if you find you have touble getting them out of your hair, a (non-cone) shampooing and restarting the baking soda routine usually does the trick. Ditto for any instance where you feel your routine has just gotten off and it’s not working for you. Shampoo, condition, return to the routine at your next washing if you want. It might take a wash or two for your hair to have enough of its natural oils to be back to it’s really happy state (shampoos are super effective at removing those oils…all of them), but I still shampoo a few times a year just to start fresh or because I am in a really big hurry and that’s fine.
I’m a big proponent of I will do the thing that is cheaper/better/more natural/simpler as long as it actually works. It does for me.
🙂
Oh, believe me…you can even spend pretty decent money on a haircut and get a crappy one! I find that you really have to do your homework to find a stylist that knows how to handle your type of hair. Mine is extremely thick and heavy, and needs a lot of weight taken out through point and slice cutting, but it’s really hard to find someone well-versed in the technique. And when you do, you PAY for it!
I love the ponytail! Great outfit! 🙂
Just realized that I got so wrapped up in the hair discussion that I forgot to say how much I LOVE this outfit! It’s really great with your hair pulled back, too. Minimal at its best!