FASHION OF LIFE (PART 5)Asia Girl Photos

Here's a little sneak preview of some of the items I'll be putting in the Ebay store tomorrow...

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You know that old saying, "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"? Today I feel like it should be "if you can't blog about something interesting, don't blog at all". Honestly, I'm feeling pretty uninspired these days. I'm under a strict, self-imposed "no buying" ban so in order to not tempt myself, I'm trying not to look at all the fashion sites I usually look at. I haven't been keeping up with my usual bevy of blogs or flipping through fashion magazines looking for ideas like I usually would. So... I'm basically taking the day off!

These and more are coming...

shoes: 30s oxfords
purse: vintage

First of all, thanks so much for all of your advice and suggestions on getting a dress form. I've already been scouring Craigslist and found a vintage one that I really like that's just 30 miles from me (of course I haven't heard back from the seller yet). If that doesn't work out I'm going to check out a couple of local flea markets and if all else fails, I'll end up ordering one from Ebay.

Today I'm working on getting new items posted in the Etsy boutique. . Ha! I've just discovered this show and now I think I'm hooked!
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I would like to purchase a dress form for displaying the clothes I'm selling, rather than just hanging them on the wall or wearing them myself. The problem is, I don't really know anything about dress forms. I do know that my dream dress form is sitting in a local vintage shop with a $375 price tag on it. I also know it's not coming home with me any time soon.

So... I'd like to recruit your help. Does anyone have any real-life-dress-form knowledge they'd like to pass along? My budget is around $100 (including shipping). I'd like one that's sturdy enough to last for a least a few years. It can be new or used. I like the idea of an adjustable one, but it doesn't have to be. I'm thinking that trolling Ebay for a used one is going to be my best bet. Whatdya think?

I'm really not much of a beach person, but I suppose it's always good to be prepared in life for any situation that might arise. At least that's how I'm rationalizing the need for a vintage swimsuit in my life. I think I can count on two hands the number of times we visited the beach when we lived in LA (and on one, um, finger the number of times I actually wore a swimsuit). But some of our new friends here in PA have pool parties and go floating down the river in inner tubes and participate in other such activities that may, in fact, require me to don a swimsuit. Also required: a large sunhat to protect my shoulders and the highest SPF sunscreen I can find.
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There are days when I want to just clean out my closet and replace everything with a great pair of vintage jeans, ther perfect white t-shirt, a little black dress and call it a day - a la Jane Birkin. Today is one of those days.

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dress: 50s wool shift dress (altered a bit by me)
collar: vintage from an Alabama thrift store
shoes: 30s peeptoe pumps
purse & umbrella: vintage

I think it has rained for seven, eight, nine (?) days straight. I'm beginning to feel like I'm going to wash away. I know that spring usually calls for florals and pastels and all things pretty but I just can't seem to get into the spirit. I keep reaching for the same blacks and greys and browns in my closet. Perhaps a little sunshine over the weekend will lift my mood.

No matter what's in, what's out... the best summer accessory has to be your girlfriends.

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It seems like everyone is cutting back these days, me included. I've always enjoyed thrift shopping but I know for some it's become a neccesity rather than a choice. But just because you're shopping at the thrift store rather than the mall doesn't mean you have to look any less stylish. So with that in mind I headed to my local thrift store with $20 in my pocket, a mission to put together an outfit and (hopefully) a little luck on my side.

Right now I’m really leaning towards skirts and blouses (as opposed to dresses) so I planned on hitting those sections up first, followed by a run through the accessories section for shoes and a bag.

First the skirt. The skirt section of the thrift store is always a bit intimidating to me! It always seems like it’s packed with suit skirts that got lost from their matching jackets and bad 70s polyester. But every once in a while I’ll stumble across a pretty wool pleated skirt or a perfectly matched up bias plaid number. After thumbing through three rows of skirts I had my choices narrowed down to a cute high waisted corduroy pencil skirt or a navy plaid 60s wrap skirt. The corduroy seemed a bit out of season, so I went with the wrap. Now on to the blouses…

Since I chose the plaid skirt I needed a simple top to go with it so I headed over to the row of cream colored blouses. After passing up one blouse because of a stain, another because it was too big, and yet another because it would put me well over my $20 limit, I settled on a pretty pintucked top with buttons running down the back.

Then I ventured over to the accessories section. I think I spotted it at about 50 paces. The bag I’d been looking for! I must have brought some luck with me after all. There, hanging amongst the faux leather and the scarily sequined bags, was a buttery soft Coach satchel. A perfect compliment to the navy skirt and cream blouse!

Shoes can be trickier. There’s no altering shoes. Either they fit or they don’t. After a few misses I started to feel a bit like Goldilocks. One’s too big, another’s too small. I finally found a pair of light brown woven sandals with a chunky wooden heel. All set!

THE GOODS:

pintuck cotton blouse: $3.99
navy plaid wrap skirt: $4.99
woven leather sandals: $3.99
Coach purse: $6.99

Grand Total: $19.96THE FINAL RESULT:

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dress: Topshop
shoes: 30s peeptoe pumps
purse: vintage
*listening to: Travis (seriously, I'm a bit obsessed right now) 12 Memories "Happy to Hang Around"

Someone asked me if all of these places that I take photos are within walking distance of where I live or if I drive around to take photos. The answer is one of our favorite pastimes is driving around and looking for places to explore. That could mean an abandoned building or house, an overgrown cemetery or in this case a centuries old church surrounded by the prettiest graveyard and rock walls. Once there we usually split up, each with a camera in hand to take photos. It's always fun, later on, to compare photos and see how each of us saw the same thing in two different ways.

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic for Southern summers - the air thick and still with humidity, heat lightning in the night sky, fireflies hovering over the ground.

top: 50s cotton blouse
skirt: 60s mini skirt
headband: vintage from 1385
purse: vintage
shoes: vintage
*listening to: Travis - 12 Memories "Love Will Come Through"

Oh, I just realized what a terrible blogger I've been when it comes to taking outfit photos. It's been nearly two weeks! Yikes. Sorry about that. If it makes any sense, I think it's because the weather has just been too nice. I've been so busy enjoying it, there's hardly been time to stop and take photos. Today I took some time to sit by the Conestoga river and just chill out for a bit. There were ducks swimming by, plump little groundhogs scurrying about and too many bugs to speak of. Tomorrow Tom and I are heading back to Philly for yet another show (Bat for Lashes - if you see me there feel free to say hi!). I was a slacker last weekend when it came to taking photos but I promise I'll snap some tomorrow.

First of all, I so glad that you all love these pieces as much as I do. It was exciting to come across this stash of vintage goodies and it's been fun showing them to you and letting them find new homes all over the globe. The second update won't be coming this week as I've just been too busy to get everything ready but I'm working on it for next week. I'll be sure to let you know beforehand.

I thought I'd show you the pieces that I set aside for myself from the collection. The plaid jumper is one of several dresses that were homemade using the same pattern. The pattern was obviously one of her favorites as there is also a corduroy version, a tweed version and a couple more cotton versions of the same dress. There were lots of 50s and 60s cotton blouses among the collection. The floral one I know I'm going to keep but I'm a bit on the fence about the green one. I love the collar but I haven't actually tried to wear it yet so we'll see...

I must admit that I am a closet Seinfeld nerd. Whenever someone sneezes I have the urge to say "you're soooo good lookin' " instead of "bless you". I can barely eat pretzels without reciting "these pretzels are making me thirsty, these pretzels are making me thirsty, these pretzels are making me thirsty". I often have to restrain myself from from yelling "get out!" and shoving people in the chest a-la Elaine. Well, do you remember the episode where George Costanza says he wants to drape himself in velvet (if it were socially acceptable)? That's sort of how I've been feeling about silk lately.

I'm not quite sure what brought this on. I started out looking for vintage silk blouses but quickly realized that the search was futile because most silk pieces have long since disintegrated (I'm still searching though!). Then over the weekend while we were in Philadelphia we stopped into Anthropologie and I noticed everything I was drawn to was made of silk. It just seemed so floaty and airy and perfect for spring. I guess the only drawback is I'm not really sure how easy it is to take care of silk. Believe me, I never make it to the dry cleaners. I'm especially smitten with that third skirt (the grey one). I'm imagining it would be the perfect skirt to pair with little eyelet blouses and sandals all summer long.

floral deco

I'm sort of in love with all of these and they even have the same styles in a variety of colors and sizes so there's a little something for everyone. Now I just can't decide... brown, red or navy?
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