Andrew and I set out to take photos Sunday morning and we got off to a later start than I had hoped. By the time we got out to the lake it was already super hot and humid. The lighting was bad, my hair was starting to get frizzy and curly from the humidity and I was close to sweating through my shirt by then end. At one point I almost said, “forget it, this isn’t working. Let’s go home.” But we kept going in hopes that at least some photos would turn out.

They didn’t. No, the photos aren’t terrible, but they are nothing like what I had in mind. We couldn’t get to the location I had picked out, the sun was making it hard to look at the camera and like I said, the heat/humidity was making it for a less than pretty look. After looking at the photos and getting them uploaded for a post I debated on skipping it all together. Instead, I asked my mom for her opinion (when in doubt ask your mom, they have all the answers) and she said I should still post it and how it shouldn’t matter if they aren’t perfect. She’s right.

I created Living Taylored to share my real life. And life isn’t always picture perfect. Yes, as someone who loves photography I obviously prefer beautiful and well lit/contrasted photos, but life doesn’t always look that way. So here I am, squinty eyes, frizzy hair, sweaty and slightly crabby.Okay, back to the actual outfit. I am pretty sure at least 25% of my closet is made up of striped pieces whether its tops, skirts, or dresses. It wasn’t until this past year that I really started to love all things striped. In fact, it really all started with this fun nautical striped shirt. It was still winter when I first found it but I couldn’t resist. I knew it would be so fun for summer, especially given the anchor buttons and the red, white and blue color scheme.While I still wear stripes in fall and winter there is something that I really love about them in warmer months. Whether they are paired with white jeans, chino shorts or a skirt it just seems so perfect for summer.

Striped Shirt (similar here, here, and here) | Shorts (similar here) | Converse