What to wear: Injured edition

I've been unable to do photo shoots recently (have you noticed?) and while honestly the major reason is because of time/scheduling, another reason is that I have been injured for the past 3 weeks. Yes, it seems that my new activity I started this past April, rock climbing, has briefly halted my "modeling career." (please laugh with me at that last sentence)

The short story? I was free climbing/bouldering at the gym after work one Friday when I fell from a route maybe 6-8 feet high, and somehow I didn't land well and sprained my ankle....in a bad way. It immediately swelled and I was on crutches for a week (no me gusta! crutches are THE worst. But I am still thankful my photographer had a pair or it would've been a long night in the ER). And I have since been wearing a brace and only one shoe for the past two weeks. And of course, that one shoe is...GASP...flats! Readers, I don't "rock" flats well. I need my heels!!! I miss them dearly. Almost as much as I missing running and climbing...but now I digress, as usual. (what's a short story?)

Anyhow, while my injury is barely anything to be concerned about, it did at least give me something to ponder as many of my friends said "you need to do a post about fashion while you are injured." Boom. Done.

So, while I hope that none of you ever sprain your ankle or fracture or break anything, if by chance you did, here are a few tips for what to wear, particularly if you are on crutches.

1. POCKETS. I can't explain just how important pockets are when you're on crtuches. You have no hands to carry things, so you need to be able to stuff items in your pockets while you crutch away to your next destination. The best pockets are those that are on loose objects of clothing, like this dress. Jean pockets can't quite hold as much stuff.

2. Hat. This might sound a little gross, but it took a lot of effort to get in and out of the shower, stand up and wash hair, etc during that first week when my ankle was huge. So maybe once or twice I went another day without washing my hair. And that's why I wore a hat a few times :)

3. Leggings. I'm not wearing leggings today, but those were a big staple that first week to ensure that whenever I wore a dress, there was no Brit Brit flashy experience while hoisting myself forward on the crutches.

4. Flats. Ugh, that's all you need to know. Flats are obviously imperative. Thankfully I did at least have two pair that I could rotate between.

5. Crossbody bag. This was my lucky charm since I do in fact love these types of bags the most right now. It helps to have your hands free as much as possible so literally carrying a purse is out of the question. A crossbody bag will be your best friend. Also a good idea is backpacks, but I only had my outdoors pack to rely on, no cute purse backpacks are currently found in my closet.

6. Jewelry. No rings while you are on crutches. It just seems like an overall bad idea. I could only envision them getting ruined or pinching my fingers. I also kept the earrings minimized for fear that one good swing on the crutches and a big dangling earring would fly right out and I'd never find it again. But that could just be me overreacting?

7. Nails. I took advantage of my down time to keep my nails in a cute polish. It also helped that I'm not able to climb because that destroys any polish after a couple of days.

And here's the cheapskate outfit breakdown:
1. Dress, Rainbow ($5.00)
2. Belt, Charming Charlie's (gifted)
3. Ballet flats, H&M ($7.99)
4. Cameo earrings, Charm on Second (gifted)
5. Crossbody bag, thrifted ($5.99)
6. Hat, on streets of NYC ($5.00)
7. Sunglasses, Urban Outfitters ($10.00)

 

 

photos: Laura Menconi