VINTAGE STYLE (PART 5)

Bow: Carepackage gift from Maria of Lulu LettyCardigan: Jcrew (very old)Red + White Gingham Bodysuit: Vintage (estate sale)Black Skirt: Cheap Monday (on super sale!)Lace Slip: Vintage (thrifted)Tights: Urban OutfittersOxford Heels: H&MPurse: Vintage (thrifted)Chain Watch: La Mer (Christmas gift from Robin)
I was planning on wearing an all black + gray outfit today, but it was so dreary out that I felt compelled to add in a pop of color! I have also been so obsessed with lace lately, so it was only fitting to add a vintage slip with the lace peeking out. I felt a little racy, but it was such a simplistic color palette that I wanted to add in some texture and pattern mixing with the slip.
So, I need some help from all of you.  I seem to be in the worst music rut right now! Every once and a while I find that all of my free time is occupied with other things, and I neglect searching out new bands/music that I enjoy.  I am going to provide a little list of my favorite bands for reference, and if you feel that you know of a band that I may like, let me know! :)  My favorites:
-Ted Leo & The Pharmacists  -The Features  -Against Me!  -The Avett Brothers  -Arcade Fire-Gomez  -Joe Strummer  -The Kills  -Langhorne Slim   -My Morning Jacket-Neutral Milk Hotel  -The Silver Jews  -Stereophonics  -Rilo Kiley  -Spiritualized-Wilco ....and of course classics like:  -The Beatles  -Eric Clapton  -Elton John  -The Who      -Blondie  -Chicago  -Tom Petty  -Led Zeppelin
Ok! That should give you a good idea of my music tastes. Now who has good bands for me to check out?

 ----------------------------------I was going to take a day off from blogging today, but instead decided to pop in and share what I am up to today:

Scarf: My awesome Grandma Barhorst!

Sweater: Carepackage gift from Christina at Second Skin!

Trousers: H&M

Mary Janes: Rocket Dog

As you can see, I already have my new dress form hard at work! I am spending this drizzly, gloomy day photographing and measuring garments while my favorite itunes playlist blares from my laptop. There is really no better way to spend a day inside!

I am also completing a 24 hour fast today, which has become one of my favorite things to do! I know fasting and detox cleanses have become such a fad and controversial topic, but I do it simply because I enjoy it. I know that sounds strange....let me explain. I have been trying to take a more mindful approach to everything in my life....including eating.  Robin introduced me to intermittent fasting, which I have enjoyed researching and trying. I now complete a 24 hour fast once-twice a week. I have found that I have such a better relationship with food in general, have so many less cravings for processed foods, and enjoy the taste of food in such a different way. It has really assisted me in eating to nourish my body and indulging in healthy, whole foods rather than eating out of boredom, or mindless snacking in front of the television (my number one guilty pleasure!).----------------------------------------Hmmmm...not so sure about these:



I stumbled upon these lovely little high waisted orange velvet shorts yesterday, and thought I was in love....until I photographed them! Which, to my minor misfortune, I ran about town completing errands in these shorts then photographed them.  I think I have mentioned my height before.... I am 5'10 in bare feet, which can sometimes cause for ill fitting garments. I think this may be the case with these hot pants. They would probably be a better fit for some with less length in the torso and legs, thus they will likely make their way into the shop soon. I just don't know if I am ready to part with them though!

Speaking of the shop, I am hoping to have it re-opened by the weekend! I closed it while Robin and I were recovering, but am chomping at the bit to get it back up. The last few months have really provided me with some time to think, and come back with a renewed vision. I originally opened the shop to thin out my personal vintage collection, however somewhere along the line, I lost my intention. The shop will re-open with the following tweaks:
                

-I will be focusing solely on offering pieces from the 40s-70s. I will have some 80s pieces here and there, but only very specific styles.

-Instead of one huge update every few weeks, I will update the shop with 1-2 new items daily.

-I will maintain less inventory, but a higher quality inventory with more rare pieces.

-Lastly, I am most excited about this change:

I found her by fate! I was actually planning to make my own dress form and turn it into a DIY post, thus I was out gathering materials. I ran into Staples for a few things and noticed a little antique mall behind the store that I had never been to.  It was fabulous! I found a few things for myself and the shop, plus this incredible vintage dress form. The ladies working were amazingly kind and friendly. I had the best time chatting with them, and they even ended up giving me a pretty large discount on everything! The dress form actually ended up costing me only a smidgen more than the materials to create my own, and I just couldn't pass it up! ------------------------------------------------A sad day occurred in our household last week. Yes, my original Nintendo Entertainment System has passed on. I desperately blew and blew into the game cartridge and NES for a long while, but to no avail. There was a customer service phone number for warranty repair listed on the bottom, but with a date of 1985 listed directly next to the number, I doubt it would have been of any assistance. This made me very nostalgic, thus I ended up watching one of my favorite nerdy movies: The Wizard. Oh yes. Just look at that Power Glove!



Interestingly enough, Jenny Lewis starred in The Wizard. I loved her in this movie growing up, and of course I love her personal style and music nowadays.  She was the main style inspiration behind my hair transition from black to red!




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Cape: Vintage (thrifted)

Dress: Silence + Noise via UO

Belt: Vintage (thrifted)

Tights: Target

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens via endless

Bangles: Mix of vintage and UO

This cape was one of my finds from my little thrifting excursion yesterday. When I saw it, I loved it, but I was more inspired to snatch it up for two reasons: the Pendleton + Opening Ceremony collaboration and Erin from Calivintage! I am sure many of you have seen photos of the Pendleton + Opening Ceremony collection which is fabulously heavy in Native American inspired prints. I think this cape hints at that without overdoing it. Secondly, I love everything about Erin's style, especially the way she wears a variety of shapes and patterns amazingly (including capes)!

I had originally paired the cape with black skinnies and oxford heels, but the temperature warmed up and the sun came out so I had to take advantage. It was just incredible out today! This leads me to a question....dull winter weather aside, are you looking forward to spring florals, bare legs, sandals, etc, or are you content with tights and winter gear right now?

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Bow: Care package gift from Maria of Lulu Letty!

Undershirt: UO

Blouse: H&M

Little Boy's Suit Jacket: Thrifted

Belt: UO

Jeans: BDG

Boots: Vintage

I normally touch up my photographs a bit to make the color more vintage-like, brighter, etc. I decided to keep the above photos untouched, as my transition from black to red hair is nearly complete (the touch ups always make my hair appear much darker than it really is). I am in the color family that I want, but it just needs a bit of tweaking. So far, I am loving my hair much more lighter than when it was very dark!

I realized that I rarely post photos when I wear jeans, which is strange as I wear jeans quite often. I wasn't going to take photos of my outfit today....I am not too crazy about the outfit overall, but I just love the bow and boots so much that I changed my mind!

Oh...good news! I am allowed to start walking without my crutches as tolerated! Hooray! I just found out today, which is good because I was experimenting with walking a bit yesterday when I was doing my outfit shots! Oops! :)  I celebrated by going thrifting crutch-less! I found I few things that I am excited about, and may even wear tomorrow.

Happy almost-Friday!

EDIT: Ok, I need to be completely unladylike and frank here. I just reviewed my post....I was trying to strategically hide my camera remote behind me (our camera only has an instant and 2 sec delay setting for the remote), but does it not look like I am taking care of, um, a wedgie? There are no classy terms or better ways for me to put that. I hope I just didn't lose any readers here. I guess I would rather laugh and point it out than have you all silently think it! :)

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I was so excited to get out of bed today for a great number of reasons: it was the first day that I would be wearing my new clog heels, I had a dentist appointment (weird I know, but I LOVE getting my teeth cleaned...they always feel amazing afterward), the sun was shining and it was gorgeous out,  I had plans to take my new tripod and Nikon remote for a spin, and we have a casual dinner party to attend this evening! Whew!

This was the first time that I actually took my own photos (Robin has always been my go-to photographer), and I thought it was so much fun! Besides being able to see my little remote peeking out of my hand, I am quite pleased with how the photos turned out. OH, and these shoes! Totally worth my Christmas money! They are so comfortable and stable...unlike most other pairs of heels I own. However, in my normal clumsy fashion, I have already managed to injure my new shoes:

Eek! I had JUST put my heels on for the first time and headed down the metal stairs that cascade down the back of our apartment. I felt my heel catch on a stair, and to my horror I not only marked up the back but took a nice chunk of wood out as well! Good thing I like items with character! :)
The last week has been so incredible. Kacy, one of my two super-amazing sisters-in-law, was staying with us for a visit and to help out a bit.  I had such a blast....we watched an obscene amount of LOST, thrifted and shopped, and even went downtown and meandered around the tourist shops. I actually had never set foot in these shops until this week, and they are pretty great! I have never seen such a random and amazing collection of little trinkets! Kacy ended up with some socks that look like western boots and Elvis baby gear for a friend. I snatched up some Jack Daniel's flavored coffee. Sweet. 

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It is hard to believe, but this photo from our family's collection is officially a century old! My Great-Great Aunt Gertrude (known as "Gerty") is pictured in the above photo, taken in 1910. Sadly, I am unsure which lady she is, although I know my grandmother has told me a number of times. My grandmother stated that she believes this photo was taken when Gerty was finishing schooling to become a nun. I find it interesting that many of the women are smiling...it always seems that the subjects in very old vintage photos are never smiling and have a stone cold face!

The last week has been quite busy and fun-filled, and I am looking foward to catching up on what I have been up to and sharing some outfit posts over the next couple of days. I hope that everyone is having a wonderful week thus far!

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How gorgeous is this editorial of Judith Bedard in Amica Italy (December 2009)?! I have been trying to grow out a pixie cut gone bad for a number of years now, and Judith's flowing red hair makes me even more frustrated with myself for cutting off my long locks in the first place. That is irrelevant. I just thought these photos were stunning, and I love the contrast of her fair skin and red hair against the blue of the sky. Some cheery inspiration on a bleak winter day! 
I gain inspiration from a number of places, but editorials and street style shots are at the top of my list. When the fabulous people at Weardrobe came out with Weardrobe 100, an online magazine of the top 100 street style shots of 2009, I was inspired in more ways than one. The pages packed with amazing style inspired me to dress a bit more out of my daily comfort zone. About halfway through, I turned the page and was pleasantly surprised and honored: 


This, combined with my little blogging break, have really provided me with some renewed inspiration and vision. Lately I have been feeling particularly creative, and I have brainstormed some changes for this blog and my etsy shop that I am very excited for!
----------------------------------------Although I like to think that I wear what I want regardless of any current trends, I have come to realize that I am definitely influenced by trends to some extent. Instead of trying to avoid them, I have learned to embrace trends and loosely incorporate them into my wardrobe. After all, trends characteristic to particular decades are why we now refer to 20s styles as flapper, and 60s styles as mod.  Amongst the mass of forecasted trends, there are a few in particular that I am rather excited about:


 I am foreseeing clogs slowly replacing my lace up oxfords for spring and summer.  They served as staple footwear in the Chanel and Louis Vuitton S/S 2010 runway shows, and I think they can transition into a daily wardrobe quite nicely. I have been eyeing a brightly colored pair of Swedish open toe clogs for a while, and this may be just the inspiration I need to take the plunge!


I remember donning denim jumpers and shirts in the 90s, and it looks like they are back! D&G, House of Holland, and Stella McCartney all sent varying designs down the runway in their S/S 2010 collections. I love the western yet chic feel of the D&G fitted denim shirt paired with with the floral skirt.  I am already on the lookout for cheap versions of these pieces.


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Our NYE was quite low-key and nice. We had pumpkin soup and other yummy dinner foods at home, then dropped by a small get together to see friends. I am slightly embarrassed to admit this, but we were home and in our pajamas before midnight! eek! After the ball dropped, we decided to watch the very first episode of Lost (so many people love it, but we have never watched it). This was a sick, sick mistake. This is all we do now! I am ashamed (well, not really) about how many Lost episodes we watch in a day. We have made it halfway through season 2, and I just continue to get more addicted.  We are hoping to watch seasons 1-5 before the new one starts.....high aspirations, I know. Does anyone else watch Lost?

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Dress: Vintage

Tights: Target

T-Strap Heels: Crown Vintage via DSW

Cocktail ring: Pangaea, Nashville

Hello hello! I have risen from the couch and emerged from some necessary recuperation time! I cannot thank everyone enough for all of your kind words and comments, thoughts, and prayers. Every comment and email meant SO much, and provided incredible encouragement and support. Both Robin and I are feeling much better, and our bodies seem to be healing rather nicely. I am excited to transition the content of this blog from that of its recent medical focus, and back to a vintage inspired fashion blog!

Over the course of my hiatus I appropriately lived in sweats and yoga pants. Actually, I would often forego traditional pajamas for the somewhat redeeming qualities I found in yoga pants. By this I mean that I felt significantly less lazy waking up and staying in my yoga pants all day versus staying in fuzzy, patterned pajama pants all day. I know.... it doesn't really make much sense, but oftentimes my line of thinking is quite ridiculous!

The above photos were taken on one of those rare fancy days, sans yoga pants. My mother actually snapped the photos before a family Christmas gathering in Ohio. I was so excited to have snow blanketing the ground for much of our visit!

I hope that everyone had an incredible holiday season! I Just popped some cider in the microwave, and am off to catch up on everyone's blogs! :)

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