22. Luxe like old books (perfume?)
May 16th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
The Bay Area is currently broiling in a heat wave (I am cooling my heels in an air-conditioned café at present, seeing as how we have no such luxury at home), so the mere thought of purchasing an enormous faux fur coat that weighs five pounds is probably not on anyone’s mind but my very own. Still, when I came across this slightly ridiculous white coat at Luxevintage, thoughts of frolicking in a Michigan winter wonderland with earmuffs firmly planted on my head popped into my mind and would not go away. I kept my eye on this Etsy goody and after much contemplation, put in an order. It is over the top, but sometimes I am over the top to compensate for my insecurities, and I love the 40s glamour besides.
Other recent purchases include a winding watch from 1924 and two white t-shirts to wear with everything. Lately my uniform has consisted of a variety of heeled vintage sandals (I am trying to wean myself off of flip-flops), the same simple black matte silk slip, and earrings. Variations involved tying assorted blouses and slouchy t-shirts on top of the slip. Extreme variations in weather make my brain too foggy to contemplate new outfits; I fear that come winter I’ll be wrapped in a million layers of shape-shielding nonsense.
Carly H., my classmate-to-be, has brought my attention to CB Experience in the Library, a perfume that smells of old books. The description reads as such: “The main note in this scent was copied from one of my favorite books – I happened to find a signed first edition of this novel a few years ago in London.” Fashion for writers, indeed.
21. Outfit of the Day – 5.10.08
May 10th, 2008 § 1 Comment
Hat: My father-in-law-to-be left this at our duplex when he left last summer, and I’ve grown to love its style as much as its sun-shielding nature, even if Ryan calls me “farmgirl” when I don it.
Necklace: Somewhere from Taiwan. I also have a green and yellow one.
Top: Basic black top for layering.
Skirt: Camilla Norrback. Oh, the lengths I went to in order to get this skirt! It was ridiculous. I really had never gone to such lengths to get a single item of clothing before – I think I called maybe eight stores around the country, and then it ended up being a size too big, but now I just belt it.
Sweater: Hand-me-down. I like the nonsensical embroidery.
Tights: welovecolors
Boots: Urban Outfitters
My style “icon” of the moment, although I could not even begin to describe myself as being nearly as fashionable, is a girl I first found out about from Wardrobe Remix awhile back named Rhiannon (also known as liebemarlene). She is, like me, a fan of Lula magazine, the 30s, vintage fur, and not being in the snow, and gosh darn it if I don’t want to be her friend and thrifting pal. In the meantime I’ll just continue to take style tips from her blog – and keep my eye out on things from her eBay store in my size (her store, by the way, is lovely while keeping prices reasonable, something I can’t say about most of my eBay haunts these days).
Other things that I adore these days:
- Art deco watches. Right now my watch is a huge, chunky thing from Taiwan, and it sort of engulfs my small wrist – watches from the 20s and 30s are wonderfully delicate, with elegant face-fonts and nice chain straps.
- 30s clothing in general. I keep haunting eBay for decently priced 30s dresses and blouses, but I’m not having much luck so far.
- Apples with Irish cheddar. I bought a bag of tiny Fuji apples and a block of Irish cheddar and I eat them together for breakfast with a glass of water.
- B-12 vitamin patches. I think they give me more energy.
My fiancé and I also found a place that we want to get married in – it’s a mansion that doubles as an all-girls’ high school, and we are planning on having the ceremony in the library. Which fits our bookworm tendencies, and also our love of warm, comfortable spaces. Right now we’re sifting through our music to find stuff we want to play, in case we end up without a DJ. And yes, I did say we could not play “Gimme Dat Nut” (Eazy E).
20. Outfit of the Day – 5.5.08
May 5th, 2008 § 4 Comments
Top – Love ($9.95 clearance)
Trousers – halogen ($24.95 clearance)
Ankle boots – Urban
Necklace – Present from my mom, who bought it from herself but wound up hating the way it didn’t seem to make sense spatially
Yesterday I went on a shopping trip to Nordstrom Rack with my mother, who will be going abroad to visit her family next week. I hadn’t bought any clothes in over a month (okay, I did purchase two knit hats, but I am not counting those!) and so, like my taste in sugar over the years, the urge to go crazy in the racks had also dwindled. However, once I began to discover bargain after bargain, the bloodlust resurged in me and I ended up entering the dressing room with seven items and leaving the store with three. The top and the trousers, two items that made the final cut, are in the above photograph.
My long search for a pair of trousers has been going on for as long as I can remember being conscious of my own body image. Simply put: I don’t think I look very good in trousers. This is why I only own one pair of jeans (Cheap Mondays), a pair of green $5 pants that I bought from a street stall in Taiwan, and two hand-me-down pairs of corduroys from one of my closest girl friends. However, knowing that I will be moving to the Midwest, where I can no longer implement my All-Skirts-No-Pants! policy, means that I have to find some trousers. So I found some decently priced ones at Nordstrom Rack that fit me, tried them on, and lo and behold, I think they look all right. Perhaps I’ll be able to layer four pairs of long johns and tights under them in the winter?
The top that I’m wearing the picture doesn’t button all the way down, so I’m wearing it with a nude camisole. I think this just makes me look like I am a.) revealing too much b.) don’t have a belly button, which is funny. Next time I might go with a black cami.
Dear La Garconne: Why do you have to be so charming, but so incredibly expensive? I can’t get over you and your chic newsletter emails, your succulent mood boards. Sincerely, M.
