Uninsightful Fashion Tip!

I read a lot of fashion magazines, and one thing I tend not to enjoy is when there is an article on "remixing your wardrobe" or "shopping your closet" or "get more out of your outfits!" because usually all the tips are the same and most are, for lack of a better word, like DUH. Yeah yeah, wear a blazer "for night" instead of for day. Wear a t-shirt for a fancy thing. Wear a scarf as a belt. Groundbreaking! (Actually, irrelevant - like, all those tips are from 2003 but I still see them in these articles - and condescending.)

I find it is usually tips from fashion designers that are the most condescending. I'm pretty sure I once read Tory Burch recommend wearing things inside out - if you're such a poor plebeian that you can't afford her $800 tunics in order to mix things up, well, jeeze, I dunno, maybe show off all the seams and tags of that Old Navy t-shirt, that will be so tasteful!

(On second thought, it might've been Isabel Marant, but I could see her actually doing that so it's not as condescending. Or it might have been Kelly Wearstler and that is pretty much the same as Tory Burch.)

Anyway...

I do have one of those tips that I just needlessly ranted about. I found this 90's dress at work and thought it was just so almost cute, but not quite what I'm looking for... until I turned it around! The front is just a little too My So-Called Life, but the back is kind of dreamy fifties, no?

 Could it work? Well, let's take that Dalmy's tag off first and find out...

Verdict: yes, it works. A lot dressier than wearing it the conventional way - as Pete says, good for a wedding reception!

I love the high boat-neck neckline and the 1/2 sleeves, and even the little shoulder pads. Plus, the back is now a deep-v with lace, and it buttons all the way down. Kind of blah as a front, but quite pretty as a back! 

And finish it off with a little belt (found at Ardene) 

Remixing is fun! Looking forward to an occasion to wear this dress!

Easter brunch

Easter dress!

Vintage handmade, thrifted at a Salvation Army on Queen St W in Toronto last October.

Thrifted d'Orsay kitten heels and coral belt

Self-made earrings :)

As if!

This past week Peter and I went to a Beverly Hills 90210-themed surprise party - here's my get-up:

Vintage Florida crop-top, tucked into

Vintage high-waisted Levi's

90's pastel earrings

Socks No More

Spring is here, goddamnit, whether there are snow banks outside or not!

So I bid adieu to socks and defiantly wear flats.

For that matter, I'll be doing without a coat, too, thank you.

If the crocuses can do it, so can I!

Thrifted grey sweatshirt
Black Rockstar jeans
Grey almond-toe flats
Vintage sunglasses
Vintage printed Indian pashmina

Outfitted: Early winter Canadiana

When the weather starts to hover around the freezing mark, I start to give in to what most other Island ladies are all up in: skinny jeans, work socks, and ankle boots. I would love to get a pair of hand-knitted, made-in-PEI, Island wool work socks from Northern Watters Knitwear, but for now, I'll settle for any old pair. To up the Canadiana ante, I've added a pristine vintage cinnamon Danier suede drawstring jacket and vintage men's flannel. Cozy and very Canadian indeed.

+ thrifted vintage Danier suede jacket

+ thrifted vintage royal blue scarf

+ thrifted vintage flannel from work

+ thrifted vintage men's braided leather belt

+ Old Navy Rockstar jeans

+ Sears-house-brand work socks

+ Leather lace-up ankle boots, Corney's Shoe Store

+ Sky-blue floral earrings from Love Charlie

Thrift Week 2012: Silky Shirt Edition

Continuing with Thrift Week 2012: November Edition: 50% Off Sale Edition, I bring you the poly-silk shirt findings I've made recently. First is a button-up polyester beauty: vintage, pink, scalloped collar, bow. Oh, yes.

 Next up: thrifted silk Chico's (lol) top. Pure silk front, cotton back, studded shoulders. Much cooler than what I expect from Chico's, for sure - might be good tucked into some high-waisted pants for professional-ish situations, too.

 

Loving this 30+ year old music console we inherited from my parents - record player, radio, 8-track, tape player... Rad.

Thanks to Peter for the pictures! Oh, enlisting the boyfriend for an outfit shoot, I guess I really am blogging seriously now...

Tomorrow, a hint: an awesome big-name designer find, and a local heritage brand! 

Thrift Week 2012: Half Off Sales! (Also it was pay day.)

First post of Thrift Week 2012: November Edition: 50% Off Sale Edition: Ridiculously Fantastic Boot Edition.

These boots are what heaven looks like, if heaven were real and maybe a half-size too small. I have been desperately wanting a pair of flat brown leather ankle boots, preferably not a hundred dollars, preferably not too shiny and fancy, preferably vintage, preferably pointy. What a dream come true!  And, half off their 19.99 original price to boot! (huh huh) 

+ Thrifted men's leather ankle boots

+ Old Navy Rockstar Jeans in Ruby

+ Thrifted Alternative Apparel men's waffle-knit long-sleeve tee

+ Thrifted vintage London Fog Aztec-print wool coat

DIY slouchy vintage sweater

Usually when I DIY, and even worse, when I try to DIY something with my own idea, it is really not something I ought to do myself. I burn my DIY home scents on the stove, my DIY earrings fall apart, and let's not talk about cooking and baking.

HOWEVER, I must say, this particular DIY was not as doomed as its predecessors. All I want these days, thanks to Pinterest, is a perfect slouchy sweater. But a vintage/men's/oversize sweater does not necessarily a perfect slouchy sweater make. No, there must be something of an art to it. It needs to be cut a certain way, to hang a certain way, to be too big in just the right way. Furthermore, the less slender you are, the more the sweater can just look ...baggy. Or dumpy. Or some other word that no 'curvy' girl needs to describe her apparel with.

My efforts to find said slouchy sweater have brought me many-a vintage men's sweater, so, feeling bold, I decided to get choppy with the neckline (one of the big obstacles in achieving that perfect sexy-slouchy look, a too-high crew neck) of this thrifted vintage men's Aztec/Navajo-patterned knit sweater. And, who'da thought it, it worked! No disastrous DIY here! WOOOO.

Here are a few After pics. (I didn't bother with Befores because of my aforementioned history of DIY fails). 

The Eagles

First Saturday off in over a month, you know what that means: Farmers' Market! Peter and I walked all the windy way on the trail this morning. It was so cold, I really needed this parka! But it was sunny and beautiful, very much worth the chill.

+ Thrifted vintage wool parka, with fox fur and

four (count 'em, four) embroidered eagles, made in Canada

+ Vintage lilac grape earrings

+ Mom's vintage brown scarf

+ That thrifted Alternative Apparel shirt I haven't stopped wearing

+ Old Navy Rockstar jeans

To market, to market!

Bricolage

Outfits can take tinkering (or bricolage, merci Jacques Derrida) to get right. I was going to wear this yesterday, but I just couldn't seem to get the whole look to come together. Taking pictures helped me decide against the jeans, and - sigh - the beret.  In the end, I threw on my dark indigo Rockstar jeans, as I often do, and went out the door. Those vintage Levi's and beret will have their day, they just need to wait for the right moment of bricolage to work them in.

+Thrifted vintage evergreen wool beret

+Thrifted vintage turquoise earrings

+ Mom's vintage brown scarf

+ Old Navy army jacket

+ Thrifted vintage waffle-knit thermal, made in Canada

+ Thrifted vintage men's Levi's

+ Payless grey almond-toe flats

Design-wise, you're also seeing

+ Huge gold sunburst mirror from How Bazaar

(one of a kind, I think, but they have lots of similar ones)

+My grandparents' vintage mid-century modern tweed couch

+Wicker Emporium orange throw pillow

+ Thrifted wicker "circle" table

+ Vintage pink & mint Hudson Bay Company mohair throw

(in the basket under the wicker table)

+ Upcycled wooden table, repainted in bright retro orange.

Cheers!

Morning Free

I'm not sure which I like better: working an early shift and having the evening free, or working a late shift and having the morning free. Honestly, the mornings are hard to beat, even if they do feel too short. This is pretty much my mornings on late-shift-days: sitting in bed under the duvet, wearing something ultra-comfy (like this recently thrifted Alternative Apparel waffle-knit shirt I found in the men's section), having a cup of coffee/tea/water/grapefruit juice (one  of those, not a combo, haha), with laptop in hand.

Oh look, I figured out I have a webcam on this thing. Cue the unnatural photos!

+ Thrifted Alternative Apparel shirt (!), made in USA

+ Thrifted vintage psychedelic floral mug, made in Japan

+ Thrifted vintage bright orange corduroy pillowcase

Peter Pan

It feels like so little time since I was posting about 20+ degree weather and summery clothing, and here I am, in a wool (acrylic? enh) coat. Still sunny, still brisk, but a chill in the air that doesn't just allow for a little sweater or a scarf thrown over top. It's coat time.

Also, I need a better camera, yeesh.

+ Thrifted white Peter Pan-collar pea coat

+ Vintage oxblood suede-and-leather bag

+ Old Navy Rockstar Jeans

+ Payless grey almond-toe flats

+ Vintage marquise-cut-glass and rhinestone clip-on earrings

Uh oh, a toe is fraying...

Thought maybe this would show up a little better...

What I Wore: Halloweekend

Saturday night costumes: Vincent Van Gogh and the French prostitute he cut off his ear for. (Art historians are all, like, 'no way, dude' about this now but I think it still makes for a good costume.)

Took a little bit of thrifting, too!

+ Vintage Union-made white chiffon nightie

+ Love Charlie feather fascinator (with thrifted ostrich feather)

+ Vintage screw-on rhinestone earrings

+ Vintage black lace bustier

+ Vintage black slip

+ Vintage tan lace-trim nylon thigh-highs

+ Prosthetic ear with red nail polish blood

on a sterling silver necklace

What I Wore & What I Found at Work & Earrings of the Day

Another fall day, another sweater-and-skinny-jeans combo. But not just any jeans! Thrifted Cheap Monday (on Monday, huh huh) jeans from work for only six dollars. Plus, they (more or less) fit!
I am also sooo happy with my new vintage suede-and-leather purse - which I will go ahead and refer to as 'oxblood' even though I agree with Kristin that it's totally overused. At least it's less pretentious than 'Chianti'?

+ Vintage Chanel-inspired wool cardigan

+ Vintage brown scarf, inherited from Mom

+ Thrifted Cheap Monday skinny jeans (!)

+ Vintage Givenchy clip-ons

Vintage Givenchy clip-ons, holla

Only six dollars at work! Never thought I'd find a pair
somewhere other than online, let alone here in little old PEI.

Vintage oxblood (yeah, yeah, I know) suede & leather cross-body satchel