Photos by Drew
Dress: Lover (bought at the Outnet during the recession sales of ’09)
Bag: thrift store
Sunglasses: Karen Walker
Shoes: Wendybird loafers, gift from Rachel Antonoff for Bass
I’ve done at least one post on this magical (horrible) place before but I don’t think we’ve ever managed to do South of the Border justice. The first time I ever went there was three years ago when we were on our way home from Drew’s parents’ house in North Carolina; I was sleeping in the car and all of a sudden we were in a technicolor tourist trap wonderland, with giant sombreros and fiberglass animals looming overhead. We’ve gone a lot of times since and it never fails to impress. One time Drew took a bunch of footage of Rufus wearing a little South of the Border mini sombrero, but Rufus gets extra nervous every time we go to the place and hasn’t wanted to be photographed there since. I don’t blame him.
We went there on Friday when we were on our way to North Carolina and decided to take photos there since it was going to be the last sunny day for a while. We were tired and hungry, and when we first got there South of the Border seemed more depressing than wonderful (can you tell by my fake smiles?), but eventually the place won me over. Our road trip tiredness wasn’t anything that a gas station Frappucino couldn’t cure. Eh . . .
South of the Border definitely wasn’t the highlight of our weekend, though. It was too rainy to get outside photos, but we had a great time seeing Drew’s parents and his aunt, and cousin and her adorable little girl. We spent lots of time relaxing, and then drove into the pretty little town of Southport to see Drew’s grandma. She is from New Zealand and still has the accent and the wonderful phrases, and we always end up wanting to steal all her sayings. Then we went out for dinner (I had crabcakes, which in a coastal town are pretty much heaven) and drove around a bit and looked at the boats and 19th century beach bungalows.
57 Comments
South Of The Border looks abandoned (for obvious reasons no doubt, hehe), were you the only two there?
Ha ha, I’ve never seen it packed. When we were there there was one family walking around and a few suspicious trucks driving around.
Wow! Some serious colours. Great shots! :)
i love the kitschiness of this place! What’s there not to love??
Definitely one of the best photo sets you’ve posted in a while, but maybe that’s my love of odd, tacky Americana! These photos remind me of the quintessential American road trip where you seek out the largest ball of string or the potato chip shaped like Abe Lincoln. How old is the restaurant? 70s? 50s? Also I really wish that mint green horse was a unicorn!
Abraham Lincoln shaped potato chip??!! That sounds wonderful. I”m sad I didn’t go to more weird roadside attractions in Illinois . . . though I guess when I was a kid I did all the Wisconsin Dells/House on the Rock visiting.
I’m not sure how old the building is, but I think South of the Border was started around the ’50s? A lot of the buildings looked super ’60s.
I’ve always loved how much color there is south of the border. So beautiful! Also I love the outfit your wore. The dress is just darling.
Beautiful dress love the creamy color of it
Your photos are so fun and gorgeous, I love looking through them! And your loafers are so cute paired with that Lover dress! <3
For some reason that place just makes for amazing photographs!! Beautiful outfit too, the contrast between your really pretty dress and the crazy bright colours of the background looks great!
From Carys of La Ville Inconnue
It certainly looks like a colourful place! Probably full of all sorts of colourful people too, these photos are really great.
What a fabulously tacky place ;) But yet gorgeous colours. Love your sunglasses, they really toughen your whole look up
Ooooh crabcakes!! How delicious! You made me think of my trip to San Francisco, we had the best ones in our lives at the wharf and I still remember the lovely taste!
Your shoes are just darling! Have a fantastic week Rhiannon :)
Ale
Your outfit shots are adorable here. I was at South of The Border once on a trip from NY to Florida. the road signs had built up my anticipation since they started 200 miles away. Once I got there I was I was disappointed and a bit creeped out. It’s a pretty rough place.
Ha ha, the signs make it out to be better than it is! It’s the opposite of Rock City, which is more amazing than the signs could ever tell you. :)
I love all of the bright colors mixed with the dark clouds, and the neutrals of your outfit x.x.x
Casie Jean
well I’m glad you forced yourself to take these photos because this looks like a very interesting place. Love your shoes!
xx
Caitlin Rose
I’ve been wanting classic black loafers from Bass for a while but have heard they are quite stiff. Are yours comfortable? Anyway, this post makes me want to take a trip!
These are super comfortable! Not stiff and they have a little arch support and everything.
Loafers are great! I love your hair
Oh my god, you have those perfect loafers!! Damn girl, I love it.
Ooooh, that place always grosses us out. My sister and I used to beg my mom to take us there when we saw all the billboards, and when we finally stopped once for gas we never wanted to go back.
Ha ha, it’s one of those places where you can’t tell if it’s funny or depressing.
They are such pretty pictures – I love the colours!
These are so great–South of the Border is such a kitschy spot! We’ve never stopped, but every time we drive up to VA I always kind of look forward to it because it is such an odd little place to gawk at from 95. lol. Love your outfit too–those shoes are adorable!
♥ Casey
Thanks, Casey, you should definitely go next time you’re up here! It’s hilarious. Definitely worth going to fill up your car and get a quick look. :)
those shoes have been on my wishlist forever. how is the fit? are they comfy? i have wide feet.
They’re really comfortable! The fit is pretty good–I wear an 8 and I got an 8M and they fit great except maybe run a bit wide?
Totally stopped here once on a drive from NY to see dalas’ family in Charleston… someone else already mentioned the hilarious billboard anticipation, those things were everywhere on the road! It is weird how empty it always is, I think we went in and examined all the junk you could buy, but that’s about it.
I forgot you went to Charleston! One time we were driving to SOB in the car and I was sick and waiting to get there, and the billboards kept popping up with “23 miles!” “22 miles!” “21 miles”! and it made me feel sicker. Also supposedly they redid most of the billboards in the last few years and they’re not as funny now. (though I hear they get a little less politically correct each decade)
I know I would love this place!
Love the photo’s! The shoes are so cute!
Great seeing you!
Girl I tell you, these photos are amazing!
Love the americana mood, the Lover dress, your expression in the first photo, the loafers…Pretty much everything :)
Crabcakes sound delicious haha.
I love your outfit.
That dress is just perfect! And I love all the colors of this little tourist trap. What a funny place.
This is such a light, pretty outfit. I love that you kept it simple and then wore such high contrast, visually striking shoes. Pretty, pretty photos too :)
- Lea
Your dress is so adorable! And I love the vintage-isque colors here.
matched outfit with the place. And I really like the hotdogs sign with huge icecream below. And the colors of the horse.
This is lovely! I love those shoes!
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Lovely shots – the over the top colour really works as a backdrop.
:)
Everybody, thanks for liking the photos! South of the Border is a funny/scary place–highly recommended!
I love South of the Border! It generally gets most business during the summer when more of the northern folks head down to the Carolinas for vacation, I think. At least, that’s the way it seemed when I was a kid. I once stopped there on a Thursday night in December on a drive home from college for a cup of coffee and it was the most spectacularly frightening experience.
On another note – very jealous of the Rachel Antonoff for Bass shoes. Love them!
I love slightly creepy, stuck-in-time places like this… Travelling amusement parks here in Hungary have a similar air.
You sit so perfectly by the roadside, beautiful, absolutely ladylike.
loving the colors and light in these shots! You are always too adorable for words.
What camera/lense does Drew use?
Too cute.
xx
Thanks, Maggie! Drew has a Canon 5D and a 35 mm (I think?) lens
love that dress. i love your lifestyle: full of travel and adventure. :)
Aww, my life is pretty normal. We’ve just been traveling a lot lately to see family. :)
These photos are incredible!
Amazing, amazing photos. I am really diggin the loafers on you! When I first saw these shoes I was interested to see how they would look on, and you have styled them oh so well.
you are adorable!
Oh goodness, I love the colors in these photos so much! The dress is lovely too.
I loooove the Wendybird loafer :)
Great blog. Definitely following.
wow, what a creepy place. i would love to go there once.
there is a place like that in berlin, even though not half as scary.
http://www.google.de/search?q=spreepark&hl=de&prmd=ivns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=vlyZTafNMMj4sgbcxJnMCA&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQsAQ
it was an amusement park, but it’s been shot down for ages now.
all the rides are still there, very old, very spooky…
this place looks amazing! in that creepy ghost town sort of way. incredible photos. and i love your outfit (as usual)
my family used to stop there every time we went to florida when i was younger. it is amazing to see it in photos again, it has been years since i was there.
My goodness! These photos! That dress! Love it
I got so excited when I stumbled on this post!! My family visited South of the Border in the 90′s, which is where I bought an oversized sombrero (perfect for extremely white, small town mid-western girls, haha).
Love the photos, so great!