3.31.2011

Fit To Be Tied

Sunglasses- Chanel; Necklace- Banana Republic; Shirt- Anthropologie; Dress- Thrifted (Crossroads); Shoes- Jessica Simpson Dany Platforms; Bracelets- Vintage & Nordstrom

This title is a little deceiving. I'm not currently mad as a hornet (two idioms in one post! yipee!) but I did tie my shirt in a knot... over my dress... so... there's that.

Anyways, I have to tell you about my new favorite thang, Crossroads Trading Co. Perhaps, you've already visited one of these amazing outposts (there's a bunch throughout the west coast) but I'd never heard of them until my sage, Miss B Jones, did a post on the Orange County location.

The whole deal, essentially, is you can buy, sell or trade clothes there (trade just sounds fun... like beanie baby bartering). I, having the tendency to hold onto clothes forever, naturally went with sole purpose of "buying." Which I did, very happily.

I hit up the Santa Monica location last weekend (wearing 5 inch high heels... why?!@?!?#) and in just a few minutes my arms were lost under a pile of awesome vintage and formerly loved dresses. I was a little overwhelmed and went to my comfort zone (dresses) since it was my first time but the whole store was brimming with cool items.

I spent an hour and a half, giddy as a schoolgirl, and walked out with 2 dresses, a skirt and an awesome Stevie Nicks-esque shawl thing for under $60. No typo.

One of my finds was this leopard print slip dress which I layered under a blouse for an evening showing of Bill Cunningham New York last night. There's approximately a million and three ways I could wear this dress so don't be surprised if you see it pop up again.

And, if you're wondering about the documentary, it was interesting, funny and smart. There were a couple of dry moments but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it and left feeling inspired. Bill's the sort of guy that tells strangers when they have spinach in their teeth and I just wanted to hug him.

Daily Quote Dose: Iris Apfel

 
"Price has nothing to do with style. Sometimes the least expensive things are more amusing and more witty and if you put them together with things you have in your wardrobe you get a smashing new look.” - Iris Apfel

3.30.2011

My Idols: The Ladies of Advanced Style

I have always admired and aspired to be like crazy old ladies. I hope they won't be offended that I've used the world old, in fact I should say "vintage" because there's really nothing "old" about these ladies at all.

I love them for their sense of frivolity and abandon. It seems, from my limited life perspective of just a couple of decades, that somewhere between 20 and 80 you really find your voice and individuality. And somewhere, in that mix, you realize that what matters most when dealing with style is the representation of self. What matters, is the personal joy you get out of crafting your look, the creative enjoyment you experience when layering a look that screams you! and nobody else.

When you hit 80 you don't care if what you're wearing is right or current or passe... all that matters is whether or not your individual style, which took decades to perfect and polish, is oozing out of what you wear.

So, here I am, 22 years old, and I'd like to take my fashion ques from some crazy vintage ladies. Well, lucky for me, the blog "Advanced Style" is dedicated solely to these fabulous women and their style. I stumbled upon this blog earlier today and have been consumed by inspiration and happiness since. You'll have to take a peek at their work for yourself, but in the meantime here are some of my favorite findings.

This sassy lady made me laugh out loud:


Advanced Style Presents: Ilona Royce Smithkin from teenage peanut video productions on Vimeo.


Some other favorites:





Daily Quote Dose: Big Diamonds







"Big girls need big diamonds." -The fabulous Elizabeth Taylor 

3.29.2011

Teach Me Twiggy

Color Blocking: The Art of Crayon Box Dressing

Color blocking is sort of ubiquitous at the moment and I'm very pleased about this. Since I love bold colors, I figure, why not splash multiple across my body and get more bang for my buck?

There are a couple of things that make this look fresh and modern for me.

1. Luxe fabrics and saturated colors:


2. Nude Accents:





































I'm particularly gaga for this last look (obviously): nude + red+ hot pink+ fur+ snakeskin= fashiongasm.






Image 1, 2, 3 via B. Jones Style; Image 4 via Citizen Couture

3.28.2011

Daily Quote Dose

"I feel sometimes that I'm walking parallel to life and not inside life." -Alber Elbaz



image via Lovemore

3.25.2011

Friday's Favorite Things

It's been awhile since I've kept up with my list of favorites for the week and I know you've been generally weepy about this. You've been drowsy, dragging, down in the dumps, considering-wearing-a-tracksuit-in-public sort of depressed over this void, haven't you?

Well... never fear my little cinammon sticks! Here it is!

1. Favorite decision of the week: Following Ingrid Michaelson on Twitter. Simply because she says things like this:

"I just want to say one thing - I love cheese."

"I would be in such great shape if it weren't for my sweet tooth. And my salty tooth. And my snickers tooth."

"I want to snuggle with Barbara Walters. She seems like she would be good at it."

Obviously, these are the thoughts of my heart as well.


2. Favorite Tune: Sea Of Love by Cat Power


3. Favorite Laugh-out-loud:
One of the new friends we made in Vegas last weekend just teachin' me how he likes to get down. One of the highlights of this picture is the fact that I decided to clutch his index fingers romantically. Killer move of mine.

4. Favorite online discovery: Irina Werning's "Back to the Future" project.  This photographer Irina has been inviting people to reenact their childhood photos and since I've got a wild case of nostalgia and love of awkwardness I am obsessed.

Here's some of her work:
 








 
I'm thinking these might be contenders for my reenactment:


































5. Favorite color: Green
























Image 8 via Le Fashion, Image 9 via Where Did You Get That, Image 10 via Vogue Diaries, Image 11 We Heart It

Daily Quote Dose: Mae West

  

"I lost my reputation young but never missed it."- Mae West


Photo by Sally Mann 

3.24.2011

Daily Quote Dose: Kate Spade


"I think that playing dress-up begins at age five and never truly ends." -Kate Spade



image via We Heart It

Let's Take This To The Bedroom

I'm in the process of revamping my boudior (yes, I drop this word casually in conversation) at the moment, and as usual I've found some inspiration in the blogosphere.

Let's do it:

Essentially, my dream bedroom. You wanna talk about it? Okay, fur pillows- do me; framed eclectic art collage-heck yes; all white bedding, pale pink flowers- I love you; bed frame- eh, you're boring but I'm not that mad at you. 


 Let's be honest about this whole thing and say a lot of the awesomeness here comes from the hot diggity architecture. Who doesn't want to live in the attic with a bean bag? But again, all white and a chandelier- two of my go to's. 


Again with the chandelier and white bedding, but I'd like to note the window dressing here- if these were in a bold color I'd meow. 


Okay, yes. Printed curtains- why not? Bomb.com retro chair with gorgeous graphic print pillows? Fine. Pink walls? I'm indifferent... 


Yeah, okay, white bedding and chandelier. We get it. I couldn't resist. 


Ottomans at the end of the bed are all up in my grill and I am liking it. 



 Yeah, this makes me feel sparkly. Love the monogrammed pillows and bold color accents. Crystal accessories don't hurt either. 


I used to be all googly-eyed for this wall color... I'm growing a little sick of it. Mostly, I just want to enjoy the golden ottomans. 


Matronly wall treatments are not turning me on here, but the mix of prints and leopard blanket make me feel really, really good. 


 Would this make me dizzy on the day to day? I almost don't care... 






Image 1 & 10 via House Home; Image 2 & 9 via MFAMB; Image 4 via I Suwanee; Image 5 via Design Darling; Image 7 via The Glamourai

3.23.2011

Daily Quote Dose: Soul


"My soul is in the sky."
- William Shakespeare



image via lovemore

I Want A Getaway

Where it's not raining; where the fruit is drip-down-your-chin juicy; where you can smell the flowers and the dirt; where you can run around in gauzy fabrics and flower headbands and sip wine. 

It will look like this:








Image 1 & 6 via Julia, Image 2, 3, 4 & 5 via We Heart It