If You Don’t Swing, Don’t Ring! (Gold Coast)

Chicago during the summer time is phenomenal. The glistening sandy beaches along Lake Michigan, the alfresco dining spots in Lincoln Park along Clark Street, and the festive musical events by Grant Park..these are a few things that I adore the most about the Windy City. Amongst all these roly-poly activities sure to fill up anyone’s to-do list for the weekend, my favorite venture when Saturdays comes around (like a girl in baby blue headband waiting for the clock to chime) is exploring the various neighborhoods in Chicago. From Little Athens in West Loop (where the Greek signage on the local Walgreens’ drugstore marks the beginning of Greektown), to Little Italy by Taylor Street (where lines form outside Mario’s Italian Lemonade for frosty to-go Italian ices ), there isn’t one neighborhood that’s an outcasted Lone Ranger sans its own uniqueness or appeal. 

So in the wake of the high 70’s weather we’ve been blessed with this past weekend, I decided to put my travel cap on and explore the vivid Gold Coast neighborhood in Chicago. We took advantage of the beautiful estates nestled in this quaint neighborhood for our photo shoot, which was highly enjoyable amidst taking in the beautiful architectural designs of the buildings, not to mention finding amusement in patting the little canines wagging their tails when strolling by with their owners. The pictures were mainly taken outside the original Playboy Mansion, which is the 70-room classical French brick and limestone residence with a brass plate on the door that reads “Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare,” or, “If you don’t swing, don’t ring”.

To be in tandem with the nonchalant and whimsical sightings along State Street, I’ve decided to dress for the occasion — my French Bulldog T with black and red sequins with a pair of baroque print crop pants. I wanted to play off this light-hearted appeal by pairing colorful earrings from Kenya (thanks to my girl Mintza), black sequined Sperrys, and a navy bohemian bag with gold details. Green tea frap from Starbucks cooled us down while awaiting the golden moments to capture and showcase to you….drumroll….wait for it….one of Chicago’s darling neighborhoods!

P.S. We’ve heard that the mansion’s basement, Hefner’s original “grotto”, had a swimming pool with a glass wall. If only google translate wasn’t so handy, we would have definitely ignored the Latin inscription and swing-ed and ring-ed it! 🙂

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Xoxo~ Lena

 

Credits: Jason J Photography http://jasonjphotography.zenfolio.com