Mad Men Screencap-recap, S 6 Ep 10

Your weekly recap of the best set and costume design on television, without further ado

Vintage Swimsuits

Remember this swimsuit I posted about a little while back? It was exciting in part because it's so cute and flattering, but also because I own, like, no bathing suits. I had one bathing suit for years - this half-sexed up, half-frumpy brown Calvin Klein swimdress - before Peter pointed out the chlorine had eaten a giant hole in the side of it. So I had no bathing suit for a short period of time.

Then things kind of turned around this spring: thanks to several bouts of good thrift luck, I came upon these four swimsuits, top one included. All are fun, vintage, and my favourite proportions (high waist, low back, boy cut or slightly skirted). Check out the others!

Polka dotted black and white peplum one-piece, Value Village

  

Nautical striped navy boyshort one-piece, Value Village 

My very first real bikini! From the Garment District.

Looking forward to some beach days in these!

Good fortune: A thrift & gift haul

It has been a hard week for a few reasons I won't be blogging about, but this is a little high point of the week (gotta think positive). I found a few things of my own, which we'll look at first, but the real gems are the items my mom found for me (read on!).

First exhibit: vintage bathing suit that looks freaking awesome on, thrifted at Value Village.
How often do you find a bathing suit and think "OH MAN I LOOK SOOOO GOOD IN THIS"? Case closed.



Exhibit Two: Vintage white wicker nautical box bag. Yes. 

Exhibit Three: Roots leggings, in perfect condition, complete with marled grey (favourite) and worksock hems (other favourite)

Exhibit Four: Mid-century-style hand carved wooden candle holder, made in Nova Scotia

But here is the really good stuff.

Mom and Dad went to an auction the other night and my thoughtful mother found these (in a larger lot of stuff) for me. Three pairs of fancy antique 1930s round glasses, a 1960s-to-1980s pair of sunglasses, and a fffaaaabbbulous pair of 1950s Bausch & Lomb horn-rimmed glasses with mother of pearl inlay (which I am definitely getting refitted with lenses).  

  

My favourites!

So much fun stuff! Will share a few more finds soon!

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

Upcycled m&a earrings on Etsy!

Added four new items to Etsy today: my handmade upcycled vintage earrings. Check 'em out!

Mint-grey silk, coral, pearl

Gold & turquoise

Silver, coral, turquoise

Antique gold, turquoise, antique faux-pearl

I can always make different permutations of what you see here too, as long as the bits and pieces are around! Get in touch if you're interested in any of them, or something similar!

Etsy Shop You Need to See: The Sparkling Sparrow

Oh man, guys. I know as much as anybody that there is a lot of awesome stuff for sale on Etsy, but sometimes I get pretty excited about it. This is one of those times. The Sparkling Sparrow, in Appleton, Wisconsin, offers these amazing hair clips, hair combs, and more fashioned out of vintage and reclaimed jewellery. I feel like I stumbled into a diamond mine.

I always pictured I would have a hairpiece like this for my eventual wedding, made out of all the sentimental (but maybe broken or mismatched) jewellery I've been saving. Looking at these lets me know that it is very much possible, and will look stunning. Yay!

Here are some favourites, but check out the shop yourself - I'm drawn to a particular look but there are more varied, interesting pieces too.



The first one I found - stunning!



Pale blues and gold, fave combo

White & gold botanical, beautiful

A little bit mid-century, a little bit Grecian, a little Edwardian. Love it!

White, ivory, cream, blush, rose, gold. So pretty and feminine.

Something blue :)

I might just need to stop drooling and buy one of these!