Bianchi blues

The bottom half of this outfit definitely reminds me of something bike messengers are wont to wear. I love the tie and striping on the sweater and paired it with my grandma's locket.

Sweater vintage Evan Picone, locket vintage, jean shorts Buffalo, shoes Urban.

Locket that my grandfather gave my grandmother when he went off to WWII. It still has the original photos (one of them together, one of him) my Grandma Rose put in it. This is one of my most cherished pieces.

These are nylon shoes with a suede toe that I got at Urban last year. I remember thinking that they looked very Japanese when I got them.

Donna Reed goes roller skating

The "roller skating" part is a remark on the side braid, which can hardly be seen here. The rest of it is sorta foxy Donna Reed. Love the yellow gingham off of the grey skirt.

YD gingham shirt Gap, pearl necklace vintage, skirt Ruehl, bracelets vintage, shoes vintage.
Close up of my favorite vintage shoes.

My veiny hands are displaying these lovely vintage bracelets. The borealis one is from my grandma and the other one I thrifted. I have a few others in different colors.

Kelleys Island

Went to Kelleys Island this weekend. It's an island on Lake Erie. Very quaint. In fact, it was too quaint for our liking (well, once our friends left)... came back a day early. But I'm glad we visited.

These are the "glacial grooves" on the island. They were cut into the limestone by a glacier over 10,000 years ago.
Me in a mumu I thrifted in Hawaii.
My favorite vintage play/swimsuit. It's made of a woven cotton fabric and is boned and smocked in all the right places. It even has the "modesty patch" in the front. The print is nautical--with crests and rope. I only wear it to lounge--I don't actually swim in it since the cotton woven is sort of impractical to actually get wet.
The entire back is smocked so that the non-stretch fabric becomes form-fitting.

Hi, pumpkin!

That's how my friend Brian greeted me: Hi, pumpkin! I thought he was using it as a term of endearment, but he was really just remarking on my color choice. Though I've been shying away from any vintage pieces made of poly, this green (poly) skirt's been with me for years and is one of my favorites.

Wool/silk shirt be, necklace by me, skirt vintage, socks Old Navy, boots Frye.
Colored nut beads strung on leather.
Wooden bracelet (RIP, it broke later that day).

Mourning the loss of color

Crepe dress vintage, necklace Jami Rodriguez, belt vintage, tights ?, shoes Banana.
Close up of octopus with buried treasure necklace. I always get comments on this piece; it's one of my favorites!

Dirt rockin' in some beaded flats

Shirt Ruehl (additional purple bow sewn on by me), shorts Levi's, tights Urban, flats Beverly Feldman.
Close up of my embellished flats.
The large bow on top of the Ruehl graphic tee. I like how the graphic is forced to take a supporting role and ends up looking pretty and lacy underneath the bow. This could probably get me fired.

Running late for assembly again

Sweater Ruehl, l/s shirt Gap, skirt Rugby, tights?, shoes Dolce Vita.
Close-up of sad tooth pin by Princess Tina. I'm definitely wearing this to the dentist next week!

Colonel sweatshirt

I've been into short-sleeve sweatshirts for a while. Found this one over the weekend, and the sleeves are already finished--no snipping necessary!

Short-sleeved sweatshirt vintage, l/s shirt H&M, skirt Gap, plaid tights samples from my old company, shoes Joie.
Pins vintage. The crest is stamped "India" on the back.

Pretty neon mannequin

Cheap, ladylike chic. I nipped the trapeze dress into a vintage silhouette with the sweater.

Sweater H&M, cotton sateen dress F21, tights Urban, shoes Dolce Vita.
These are old, gold earring charms (used to wear them on gold hoops back in high school) that I put together on a chain as a necklace.
I always think of these as my "polio" shoes. They remind me of vintage leg braces or shoes that an early 20th century orphan would wear. It's weird, I know, because they're totally cute.

Flight of the moose, circa 1977

Shirt by Chandi (note the lovely discharge-printed winged moose), necklaces vintage (one with a sweet golden bull motif), jeans Levi's, belt vintage, shoes Banana.

Buttoned-down technicolor smut

Cardigan Banana, pin vintage, belt vintage snake (from mom), dress vintage, socks ?, shoes old Steve Madden.

Jazzy grandpa takes broadway. The fishnet socks just remind me of an old man wearing black socks with his sandals in the summer, which is why I love them so.

Groove is indeed in the heart

A little Broadway, a little Lady Miss Kier.

Oxford Ruehl (it _was_ the quarterly meeting today), belt is a reeeaaally long tie dyed silk sash from our trim team, shorts Salt & Pepper (from Melora, back in my SF days), tights ?, shoes Sam Edelman (purchased at Bloomingdale's on my first shopping trip for work to NYC back in the day).

Close ups of the shoes. Love the buttons and stitching and tucked fabric. And they're quite comfortable!

Diana Orving

This is the dress I should have bought in Paris. I still think fondly of this Diana Orving dress. I tarried and ruminated and picked it up and put it down but ultimately left it at the store. It was hand printed by the designer and can be worn drawn in or left loose or somewhere in between. I could (and would) wear my caftan every day... and this dress has a similar cut (or lack thereof) and shape. There is limited construction, for sure, so maybe I'll just drape something nicely and fix it by hand and ta-da! A new caftan-inspired something or other. But anyway, Diana Orving's work is very cool.

Fishin' for kitties

Having trouble uploading photos, so the one above is very small. Anyway, another rainy day... knit shirt LA Made, jumper H&M organic cotton, wellies J. Crew.

And here's a close up of the necklace of vintage buttons I made a while back.

Trippy

Got a new camera, but haven't taken many outfit photos lately. I was nearly felled by a horrible cold that was making the rounds at work... just in time for our vacation to the great, white north. Not fun to be at Niagara Falls when your nose is taking cues from the gusto of the water. That said, here are some photos of the trip to Niagara and Toronto.

On Centre Island in Toronto... favorite cashmere scarf gift from Marco at the lovely Italian mill Manteco, vintage Geiger jacket, dress Willow, purse Surface to Air (Paris not NY collective), tights Hue, boots Frye (unseen).

At Soma, the amazing chocolatier in the Distillery District of Toronto (thanks, WGSN!). The delightful hazelnut cookies are called "bones of the dead." (I must recreate them at home.) The frothy brown drink is a Mexican hot chocolate. The combination, whilst sitting out on a cool afternoon, is bliss.

"Jouney Behind The Falls." In the biodegradable poncho they give you for the excursion behind the falls. It looks like I'm wearing a fanny pack under my poncho. I kinda wish I was, but it's actually just my sweater peeking out from my jacket.

Wax Poetic

Crayon carvings by Diem Chau.