Travel Diary: Jazz Fest

You guys may or may not remember the 3 years I spent in New Orleans while attending law school. Frankly, there are parts of it that I’m still trying to forget myself. Particularly, the law school part. Ugh.

I’m a big city kinda gal, so I knew very early on that New Orleans wouldn’t be my forever home. That said, there are so many things about New Orleans that I can appreciate and even miss. The food, the weather (no matter how bipolar) and did I mention the food?! So when the New Orleans based jewelry company, Porter Lyons, invited me to stay in their new studio apartment for Jazz Fest, I jumped at the chance. I’ve worn their pieces on the blog before so I was excited about the opportunity to work more closely with their team.

I landed in New Orleans Friday afternoon and headed straight to Porter Lyons’ studio apartment located behind their store. I absolutely loved the courtyard leading to the apartment so I had to make sure I snapped a picture. The architecture and vibe is so quintessential New Orleans. The shutters, the color, and the rustic charm are all things that come to mind when you think of the Big Easy.

Porter Lyons is in the French Quarter so I could hear music and the sounds of nearby Bourbon St. over the walls of the courtyard. So, I spent the rest of the day just sort of relaxing and taking in the experience.

Couldn’t resist snapping these photos on my phone.

Saturday morning I met up with my good friend Denisio (of Dopeciety) and we readied ourselves to head to Jazz Fest. But not before stopping into the Porter Lyons store to snap a few pictures.

I was quite obsessed with these hanging chairs. If I could have fit one of them in my carry-on, I would have for SURE brought one back to Chicago with me.

Upon arriving at the festival, my first stop was the massive assortment of food vendors. I have dreams about crawfish sometimes, because I miss it so much so, naturally, that was on my list of must-haves. The duck and shrimp pasta was an unexpected bonus.

Music festivals in New Orleans aren’t quite like music festivals in the rest of the country. I know they’re called music festivals, but really they’re huge fashion shows with cool bands acting as the soundtrack in the background. New Orleans takes a little different approach. The focus is actually on the music. (And the food, but we’ll get to that in a second.) That said, you can’t send a fashion blogger anywhere and expect us not to somehow make it about fashion. So I decided to push the envelope juuuust a little.

This outfit wasn’t the risque for my personal taste (in fact, I’m probably going to wear it again sans jacket), but I felt that for New Orleans without the jacket might have been a little…much. And I must have struck just the perfect balance, because I got tons of compliments on my outfit. Even from people I would have NEVER thought would approve. I’m talking 65 year old, Southern Belle grandmothers. And that’s a tough crowd to please…trust me!

I accessorized my outfit with jewelry exclusively from Porter Lyons. I’m wearing the Sequin Choker layered with the Mississippi Snake Necklace, a pair of evil eye studs and and the gold Storm Surge and ‘V for Voodoo’ rings. I think the delicacy of the jewelry was the perfect complement to such a bold, “in your face” outfit. They are definitely pieces worth investing in. They’re timeless and chic and will pair well with anything in your wardrobe.

Shop the Look:

Denim Jacket – Topshop c/o Nordstrom | Lace Bralette – AKIRA | Jeans – ASOS | Fishnet Tights – ASOS | Booties c/o JustFab | Headwrap c/o Fanm Djanm | Bag c/o Marshalls | All jewelry c/o Porter Lyons