I’ve been on the lookout for a pair of brown stacked heel oxfords for quite a while. I love the idea of pairing them with black tights and dresses but I’ve never been able to find a pair. That is until a couple of weeks ago. When I was in Alabama collecting vintage goodies to bring home to sell I ran across the pair on the left. Perfect! They were everything I was looking for; a rich brown leather with lots of perforated detailing and sturdy stacked heels. The problem? They’re a bit too big! I took photos of them to sell but hadn’t actually convinced myself to put them in the store. I figured I could try all the old tricks like putting in insoles and wearing thick tights so I could keep them for myself. That is until I went to the flea market on Saturday. Luckily I found the pair on the right in just my size. So… I’ll be putting the first pair I found in the store on Thursday. I’m sure they’ll find a good new home.
photos by Tom b.shirt: H&M
sweater vest you can't see: vintage
cape: vintage (a gift from Jesse at Humane Recipe)
jeans: Topshop
boots, purse, belt & umbrella: vintage
hat: Miller's Hats
The Chameleon. I wasn't sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to find three floors worth of stands selling everything from DIY jewelry, homemade soy candles, collector's toys and, of course, vintage clothes. We walked out with a pair of brown leather oxford with stacked wooden heels exactly like I've been searching for (more on those later) and three bottles of independently brewed hot sauces that I can't wait to try.
Ninety-nine percent of my recent purchases have been things that I'm putting up for sale in the store. Only a few pieces have snuck (sneaked?) their way into my closet. Among them are this little olive green jacket that I found in the children's section of a thrift store. I've already decorated it with my grandmother's brooch and it's been the perfect cover up for these ever-cooling fall days. I found this early 60's plaid dress in an unexpected place - an antique store. Sometimes the best part of vintage clothes are the funny tags sewn in the collars. This one says "guaranteed to bleed". I'll be sure to keep that in mind. ;) Both pairs of shoes I picked up in Alabama. The ones in the back are Marc Jacobs that I scored for just two bucks! Oh, how I miss those Bama thrift stores. By the way, does anybody spy a kitty tail? The whole photo shoot was being supervised. Last but not least I found this vintage pre-teen (that's what the tag says!) dress at a local vintage shop. It's the prettiest shade of emerald green velvet. The eccentric man that runs the shop warned me that the least bit of liquid that touches the velvet will ruin the nap forever. Yikes! I'll have to check the weather before I put it on.
The old saying goes “the eyes are the windows of the soul”. Something about the way the mugshots force the subject to look directly into the lens of the camera reveals an intimate look that a normal snapshot doesn’t show. Most casual snapshots are taken of happy moments that you want to capture in order to remember them. In contrast, these are images of people in distress, perhaps angry, sad or scared. Each one tells a story and I think that's the most important thing a photograph can do.
dress: vintage
tights: AA
shoes, gloves & headband: vintage
faux fur collar: taken off of an H&M sweater
A couple of weekends ago my boyfriend and I had the opportunity to go into this wonderfully dilapidated house to take photos. On these trips I'm typically dressed in my exploring uniform of cargo pants and a sweat shirt since the whole deal usually involves getting pretty filthy. But every time I go into one of these places I'm always imagining how much fun it would be to have a fashion shoot against the lovely peeling paint, dusty walls and broken windows. So... this time I took along a few outfits just in case the condition were right. It felt a little silly at first, traipsing around in my heels, setting up my tripod and posing in front of the camera. But after a few tries I got into the idea and ended up having a lot of fun with it. I'll be posting more of the shots over the next week or so as I get around to picking my favorites.
Oh, and for those of you who asked, Kelly was also kind enough to let me know that the tights used in the styling of the Mine collection are from Emilio Cavalini.
shirt: vintage
sweater vest: vintage
jeans: vintage Jordache
coat: H&M
boots, purse & belt: vintage
hat: Miller's Hats
I know it's silly to become attached to a tree, but this is my favorite tree in all of Lancaster. It's a ginkgo with huge branches that spread out over the sidewalk and drop their cute little fan-leaves all over the ground. While most of the trees in the area have already dropped their colorful fall leaves, the ginkgo was stubbornly staying green. With a ginkgo, the leaves usually change quickly then all fall to the ground in just a day or two so I knew I was going to have to keep an eye on it if I wanted to catch it in all of its fall glory. Luckily, as I was out for a walk the other day, the leaves had finally changed and the sky was filled with the vibrant yellow leaves. Now I want to go back to check if the leaves have fallen because they're just as pretty when they're blanketing the ground.
I’ve been reading a lot lately about fashion designer Elizabeth Hawes. I imagine that she’s the embodiment of those spunky 1930’s movie heroines with a quick mind and sharp tongue; a lady that could put you in your place with a simple look. Despite being a French trained designer, she worked hard to prove that fashion didn’t only come from the Houses of Paris but could originate here in the States. She saw no reason why mass-produced clothing shouldn’t be equally as distinctive as clothing from Paris and she became increasingly interested in designing for the wholesale market. It was an unhappy collaboration: Hawes' clothes were both too simple and too forward-looking for most manufacturers. She found her ideas compromised time and time again in the finished product.
blouse: H&M
sweater: H&M
skirt: vintage (altered by me)
tights: AA
shoes: vintage
hat: vintage
From time to time I get tagged with one of those "me-me's" where you're supposed to make a list about yourself. I almost never get around to them (sorry!) because as much as I like a good t0-do list, I'm terrible at making lists about myself. I have three lists started that I never finished! So... rather than let them sit unseen on my computer, I figured I'd share what I came up with so far.
Things I Like:
- Rummaging around in thrift stores. I can, and do, spend hours at a time picking through each and every pieces of clothing and knick-knack in thrift stores. Often people ask to go thrifting with me and I warn them that it could take hours. I don’t think they really believe me and they usually get bored about 30 minutes into the whole deal.
- Being by myself. This sort of relates to #1. I find it meditative to be by myself at the thrift store, digging through racks of clothes. But I also like to do things like take long walks by myself, going out to eat by myself and going to the movies by myself. I once went to see 28 Days Later by myself and ending up being the only person in the theater. Super creepy! I don’t do this much anymore since I really enjoy the company of my boyfriend. I suppose it’s quite different choosing to be alone than being alone because you have no choice.
- This is a brand new addition to the list. Wii Fitness! We visited friends last weekend that have it and I was instantly hooked. Can I just say that I’m awesome at Wii Hoola Hoop? Thank you, thank you. One of my prouder accomplishments. Although I have to admit I was a bit bummed that my Wii age ended up being 11 years older than my real age. Guess I have some work to do!
- Elevators. I think it’s mainly the closed in space that I don’t like. Whenever I step into an elevator I instantly feel like everyone is breathing my air. I’ll usually opt to take the stairs whenever possible although I have gotten used to riding the elevator in the building where I live (I think that’s because I’m usually the only person in it).
- Other people doing my laundry. I’m super particular about my clothes (no surprise there, right?) and I don’t like for anyone else to do my laundry. Certain things don’t go in the dryer or need to be dried flat or need to hang to dry. Some people stuff too many things in the washer at once and it makes me crazy. I’d just rather do it myself. Even though we have a washer and dryer in our apartment, my boyfriend and I always do our laundry separately.
- Sushi. I really, really wish I liked sushi (the vegetarian kind at least). It’s just so cute and bite sized! I love to look at all the little rolls lined up and the sushi dishes are always so adorable. Even back when I still ate fish I tried eating it many times thinking this will be the time that I love it. Nope! Not even a little bit.
- I read magazine backwards, that is from back to front. For some reason I always start at the last page and flip to the front. I even find myself reading the last paragraph of an article and then skimming to the beginning. It’s a terrible habit. Some sort of compulsion that I can’t seem to shake. I’ll even do it to books if I’m not careful. Sometimes I have to paperclip the last few pages of a book together to keep myself from spoiling the end by peeking before I’m done reading.
- I always have to put on my left shoe and sock first. If I accidentally put the right one on first without thinking, I have to take it off and start again. If not, I’ll feel strangely crooked all day. I’ve noticed that this practice is spreading to things like gloves, earrings and anything else that comes in pairs.
- I don’t know if this really counts as being odd, but being from the South I have several expressions I use on a regular basis that frequently garner strange looks. For instance, I call shopping carts “buggies” and winter caps “toboggans” (or just "boggans" for short). I call fingernail clippers “snips” and often say things like “fixin’ to” and “might could”. And when someone’s taking my photo I’ll say I’m “getting my picture made”.
photos by Tom b.shirt: J. Perse
vest: vintage
skirt: vintage (altered by me)
tights: AA
shoes, belt, hat & purse: vintage
Dear Mother Nature,
I would just like to clear up one thing. I said "Fall". You know, like Autumn. That means bright blue skies, colorful leaves, crisp sunny days. Not blustery grey skies, drizzling rain and bitter cold wind. If you could get that straightened out for me, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
Whenever I know I don’t have an extra penny to spend on fun things like clothes and shoes, sometimes it’s just better to stay away from the internet. There are too many tempting things to lay my eyes upon. So, to be on the safe side, I’m just looking at lovely things that are so very out of my price range I know I can’t actually be tempted. Torturous, right? Take, for instance, Orla Kiely. I adore her mid century modern-esque prints and playful color palette. All of the looks are styled to perfection with thick tights and platform sandals. And that luggage?! Yes, please. I’ll take two. And how much easier would it be to pick your pretty luggage out from all the boring black bags when you’re standing at baggage claim? I suggest you go to their home page and watch their little slide show of images. Each new photo made me squeal with delight – both the clothes and the photography.
Looking at these reminds me that I’m lucky enough to own one Orla Kiely dress. I got it from Anthropologie a couple of years ago on super-duper sale. I had a fancy-schmancy fashiony event to go to when I was living in LA and wanted a cute new dress to wear. I got a couple of compliments on the dress and one girl even asked where I bought it. When I answered Anthropologie she gave me a snobby little laugh, turned up her nose and walked away. Ha! So very LA!
Bonnie -
skirt: vintage
sweater: Anthropologie
beret: Miller Hats
shoes, belt & scarf: vintage
gun: Toy Arsenal
Clyde -
pants & vest: vintage
shirt: Banana Republic
hat: UO
shoes: Moo Shoes
gun: Toy Arsenal
As promised, here are a few of our photos from Halloween. It was a beautiful night out and we had a blast hanging out at the creepy old Elk's Lodge, playing duck pin bowling and enjoying everyone's costumes. Perhaps the best part of the night though was when Tom, um, I mean Clyde, and I were leaving we snuck up to the top floor of the Elk's Lodge where it was dark and empty to snoop around and take photos.
For the most part I try to keep the focus of this blog on fashiony things and personal style. But from time to time I run across other fun things I’m tempted to share with you. I’m never quite sure where to fit those things in because 9 out of 10 times they have absolutely nothing to do with fashion. So… I’ve decided to dedicate my Saturday posts to what I’m calling Random Goodness: good things I find that I don’t want to keep to myself. It could be illustrations, photography, music, design, movies or whatever happens to tickle my fancy that week. It could even be something as random as shadow puppetry.
dress: vintage (the one I bought in NYC)
tights: ??
shoes & purse: vintage
mask: vintage
My favorite local vintage store put out a collection of vintage Halloween masks. When I saw this creepy little bunny I couldn't resist. If you want people to think you're a little strange, set up a tripod in public and start taking photos of yourself. If you want people to think you've completely stepped off the deep end and are ready for those nice young men in their clean white coats to come and take you away... get all dressed up, put on a bunny mask and then run around a cemetery taking photos of yourself. Happy Halloween! ;)
COLLECTION OF WORLD'S BEST WALLPAPERS
WOW WHAT A BEAUTY
AMAZING NATURE
NATURE OF GOD
JAZZ OF LIFE
COOL PHOTOS BANK
BEAUTY OF WILDLIFE
BEST PHOTOS OF THE WORLD
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