I Took a Cue from Colonial Wear

So I've done a 70s look, a 50s look, and a mod look this past week.  So what else is there to try?  How about a Colonial look?!!  I live very close to Colonial Williamburgs and from time to time I'll come across a period 1700 reproduction costume while thrifting.  My friend Diane actually spotted this beauty for me and I fell in love with the pretty print and a-symmetrical sleeves.  Of course when I tried it on it had a floor length skirt, which made it look way too costumey, so I opted to chop off about 1 1/2 feet in length to make it a short bohemian inspired frock.  

Oh and I wanted to talk a little about the little weekend getaway I had!  It had it's highs and lows (as most travel does) but the absolute highlight was seeing The Get Up Kids!!  Talk about a fantastic group!  I've been listening to them since I was about 18 and I could never get enough!  Their stage presence is phenomenal and they just sound amazing.  I'm so obsessed (in a good way) with the band that I had to visit the little town in Kansas where they did recording.   Oh and as for the lows I totally broke my new Android phone while at the concert and the screen is just shattered.  And guess who has two thumbs and thought that phone insurance was a rip off?  This gal!!  

Vintage Dress, Thrifted

Knee High Socks, Forever21

Vintage Boots, Ebay

Cognac Belt, H&M

Necklace, Etsy

Colorfully Mod

I'm going for a totally new era today.  I'm all over the place when it comes to my vintage clothes.  Although this dress isn't vintage, I believe the pattern is vintage.  It's very 60s mod with it short length.  I can deal with short, so long as it is tight on the body (does that sound strange?) only because I don't have to worry about the wind blowing up my dress.  To give it a more mod feeling I paired it with my bright yellow tights, black Chanel inspired flats, and a cute little beret.  Oh and my cat eye sunglasses.  I wish the sunglasses were vintage, but alas they're Forever21.  I'm on the lookout for a cute vintage pair at the moment though.  Something a little more resilient is what I had in mind.  Although I'm sure I got my $2 worth from these Forever21 glasses. 

If you haven't noticed by now, I try to reserve my more fun looks for the weekend.  Something about the weekend gives me a new lease on life and I just want to wear whatever I feel like wearing.  Whether it be a too short dress, tights with shorts, or lots and lots of sequins.  I still have to be somewhat conservative at work, which sometimes can get boring, so I love the opportunities the weekends bring to make my style more fun.

Oh and I'll let you know where I wore this get up to.  Zach and I basically debated about where to go to brunch for an hour, although we both knew where we wanted to go.  Our favorite brunch place is this cute little cafe called the Green Onion but it's still a little pricey.  We try to save our outings there for special occasions, but today seemed as good a day as any.  I mean Zach and I are going to celebrating our 8 year dating anniversary tomorrow so we might as well go all out for the weekend!

Dress, Boutique in NYC

Cardigan, Thrifted

Tights, Rite-Aid

Flats, Thrifted

Vintage Coat, Ebay

Vintage Beret, From my Friend

Into the Dark

Drats!! It was dark again when I got home from work but I really wanted to take some photos of new vintage skirt so I went to the fire escape hoping that the lighting would be a little bit better.  Unfortunatley, that wasn't the case.  I'll be so happy when I come home from a late night and can still see daylight or a pretty sunset melting into the horizon.  C'est la vie!!

Okay, back to the skirt!  This skirt was hiding in a rack full of black skirts at the thrift store and somehow by the grace of God I found it and it fit!!  After a thorough inspection I discovered it must be from the 50s due to the detailing and the zipper and at only $2 I couldn't pass up on this beauty.  Have you ever found an item of clothing while shopping and start imagining all the clothes you could put with that item?  I was doing that the whole time in the store.

It couldn't have been any easier getting dressed this morning.  These shoes were the first thing to pop in my mind due to the fact they have the most adorable bows and they are also vintage from the 40s.  They just seemed to blend seamlessly with the flowy pleated skirt.  Next was the lace blouse.  Sheer satin and lace might as well be as compatable as peanut butter and jelly. 

Blouse, Dillards

Vintage Skirt, Thrifted

Old Navy Cardigan, Thrifted

Vintage Pumps, Antique Store

Vintage Beret, 2nd Hand from Friend

Cameo Necklace, Gift from Co-worker

Fantabulous Wednesdays

Does it strike you odd that Wednesday is perhaps my all time favorite day of the week?  I always look forward to this day for one reason or another.  It's usually a nice slow day at work, it's 50% off day at Salvation Army, the ABC lineup on tv is hilarious, and Ghost Hunters is usually on too.  I'm a little kooky I guess but Wednesday just give me a warm fuzzy feeling.  Ok, now you all know just how lame I am, but I'm okay with that;)

These photos of my outfit were actually taken a couple of weeks ago and I just kept forgetting to post them.  I found this great velvet skirt at a thrift store the day they were doing a "stuff a bag" sale for $10.  It's vintage from the 70s and the details of the skirt are just fantastic.  The velvet is super soft and the slit in the back is the perfect length.  What may seems as a dowdy length can be given a younger and sexier vibe just by adding a pretty slit in the back.  Plus it makes it way easier to walk around! haha!!

H&M Blouse, Thrifted

Vintage Skirt, Thrifted

Vintage Belt, Thrifted

Steven by Steve Madden pumps, DSW

Bracelet, Thrifted

Romanticize

While rummaging through an old wardrobe in my parent's spare bedroom I found a very old jacket with a great history.  The first time I discovered this leather jacket I was about 11 years old and really into this grungy I don't give a damn stage in my life.  This was about the time I started to swear and I just wanted to do my own thing.  School was a place where I constantly got scrutinized for my outfits and whatnot.  I loved black baggy things and this jacket was one of those pieces.  It was my mom's from the late 70s and it was huge on me and it felt protective.  Like a hard shell to make me feel strong against people who didn't understand me and just made fun of the things I did. 

The amazing thing about this jacket was the romantic story behind it.  My mom was dating Fred and this guy had a particular best friend named Harry.  Harry was visiting from a deployment in Korea and he was wearing this jacket and my mom loved it.  Harry went back to Korea and found the same leather jacket and gave it to my mom for a Christmas gift.  My mom ended her relationship with Fred and then struck up a courtship with Harry though written letters.  On their first real date they got engaged.  Harry is my dad and they've been happily married now for nearly 30 years!  Wearing this jacket just makes me happy!  Maybe if it never existed, I'd never be here!!

Sequined Top, Thrifted
Shorts, Target
Dolce Vita for Target Boots, Gift
Tights, Target
Kangaroo Leather Jacket, Vintage
Jewelry, Second hand and Lia Sophia

Glorious Days

 

Another laid back Saturday is in the works for me.  The day has just flown by!!  The weather is perfect so a few friends and I took our cute little doggies for a fun frolic in the park.  It was so beautiful outside and the dogs were just tearing it up!  Nothing like coming home with a dog covered in dirt.  She promptly got a warm bath and is now hyper as a crazed animal.  Ahh..Saturdays.

Since today was all about just going out and enjoying the day I wanted to wear an outfit that reflected that.  Something vintage inspired for sure.  My friend Diane let me go hog wild in her old clothes that she was going to donate and I unearthed this amazingly cute plaid top.  I love the colors in the blouse and the flowy fabric and I was really surprised to see that it's from Target.  There are a lot of elements that make it seem 70s inspired, so I had to grab it.  I also like the deep neck line.  I tend to cover up a lot but with the right undergarments something this low cut can actually be tasteful.  At least in my opinion. 

Another note about this outfit is my continuing desire to wear more jewelry.  My co-worker has a huge (and I mean HUGE) collection of vintage jewelry.  Everything you can imagine.  Anyways, I told her I'd like to choose a few pieces from her collection to buy and she brought in 3 grocery bags full of jewelry for me to sort through.  I was like a kid in a candy store!! So all the jewelry I'm wearing today is from her.  And there's plenty more from where that came from.  And plus she just gave it to me! 

Have a great Weekend folks!  I'll be spending my evening with friends watching the movie Rabbit Hole and munching on popcorn at our local theatre.

Blouse, 2nd hand from friend
Jeans, Plato's Closet
Vintage Boots, Ebay
Vintage Jewelry, gift from Co-worker

A Spring In My Step

I don't know what's going with the weather lately, but I'm liking it!!  Warm breezes, sun shine, and just the tiniest hint of a spring like scent.  I guess good ole Punxsutawney Phil was right after all!!  It's so nice to walk to work and know I don't have to worry about frost bite on my fingers! hehe..

As for the outfit, I just went with something a little more casual for a yummy lunch out with friends and Zach.  The best pizza in the world is just a few blocks away from my home so we try and make it there at least twice a month.  The whole inside is painted with scantiliy clad alien women (so sexy!!) and there's tons of old glass front bookcases filled with antique toys and souvenir t-shirts.  So the decor doesn't really make sense but the pizza is excellent.  

Lace Blouse, Dillards

Sweater, Thrifted

Jeans, Forever21

Flats, Target

Vintage Camera Bag, Thrifted

Rings, Green-Self Designed and Blue-Antique

Bracelet, Archives Chicago

What a Gem!

Well howdy folks!!  I hope your Wednesday treated you well.  My day was meh, but what can you except from a day that includes being in a cranky mood due to some guy depositing about $9000 of ones in your drawer.  It really makes you start to hate money, which in a way is good I guess.  I'm cool with not having a lot of money:)  Aside from all that, I did enjoy my outfit today.  It was comfy, warm and I did a little pattern mixing.  Although mixing floral and stripes isn't really new to the blogging world, it still throws my co-workers off a bit.  

Perhaps the best part of my outfit is my green ring.  Don't ask me what the stone is because I haven't a clue, but I bought the gem at a "gem show" and paid about $30 for it and then at another booth I found an antique setting to fit the ring.  If you haven't been to one of these "gem show" convention thingys they are a ton of fun.  You can get broken jewelery fixed, buy new jewelry or just create your own, like I did.  It's quite addictive and I'm glad they only come to Virginia Beach about twice a year.

Dress, Thrifted

Cardigan, 2nd hand from friend

Beret, Vintage gift from friend

Galoshes, Kmart

Ring, Designed by me

Just Another Day

I hope all you guys had a nice Valentines Day.  Zach and I usually forgo that particular holiday in leiu of celebrating our dating anniversary instead.  Last night I got home from work and class at about 8:30 and then we walked to Subway for dinner.  It was about as romantic as you can imagine, but we held hands, talked about our day and then ate our own 1 foot sub.  Nothing like a yummy Veggie Delight to wash down the case of the Mondays..hehe..

So I started to notice that it's staying lighter longer!!  It's about time!!  Today Zach picked me up from work and on our way home we made a detour to our little park to do some photos.  Usually this place is packed with tons of dogs and their owners playing fetch, but not today.  It was just way too cold.  Despite the fact I'm not wearing a coat, it was freezing! Zach had to keep telling me not to look so cold while I posed with frozen expressions. 

Besides my outfit being a tad chilly, I did enjoy all the colors.  I found this dress over the weekend while thrifting and fell in love with it's Missioni-esque stripes.  I wish I could say it was the real deal, but nope!  Just a spandex knock off.  But I'll take what I can get.  It makes me happy looking at it, so why not enjoy it. 

Dress, Thrifted

Cardigan, Forever21

Necklace, 2nd hand from friend

Wedges, Modcloth

Tights, Hue

An Interview with The Upside of Wonder

Hey Everyone!!  This is another installment of A Day in the Life of a Thrifter segment and I wanted to take this opportunity to discuss other creative ways to buy second hand.  I recently stumbled upon Amanda's new Blog Shop and fell in love with the things she was selling.  I'm on a budget, so the recent pop up Blog Shops have been a great discovery for me.  I also wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to Amanda's blog The Upside of Wonder.  She has such an inspirational style and her blog posts are so honest, sweet, and very well written.  She's pretty much the whole package in a great personal style blogger.

1.  What inspires the outfits you wear?  You have such a creative style going on!

Thank you! I think the weather is the main inspiration for my outfits. Living in Texas, the weather is so crazy and it sort of dictates everything, including my outfits. I’m so used to hot summers and doing the whole “I’m wearing as little as possible but making it look like this is a complicated outfit” thing. I usually only have a few pieces in an outfit, but I try to get the most out of them!

2.  What's the most rewarding part of blogging for you?

All of my life, writing has been a way for me to release my feelings and sort of work everything out. My mind always runs at a hundred miles per hour, being able to see things on paper (or on a screen) is really helpful. I think the therapeutic release I get from blogging has been one of the best parts. Plus, I’ve made some amazing blogging friends who I absolutely adore!

3.  How do you balance blogging/social networking with your time as a student?

Ha! That is the million dollar question, isn’t it? I’m not sure I have much of a balance going on, but I do try. Whenever I’m not tired and busy from school, that’s blogging time I guess. I’m actually trying more this semester to not get distracted by blogging when I have studying to do. We’ll see how that goes!

4.  If you had to wear one pair of shoes for an entire year what shoes would they be and why?

Oh geeze, this is a tough one. I would probably have to say either my brown basket-weave flats from UO or these slip-ons that I got over 5 years ago (I say these because they are usually what I wear everywhere anyways!). They are my two pair that have the most wear and feel like an extension of my feet at this point. So, either one would work for me.

5.  What is your best thrifting tip?

Anytime I go to the local Salvation Army, I usually score pretty good. I like to go on Wednesday or Thursday nights, when no one is there and I don’t have to feel like I’m fighting my way through aisles. Plus, they always have 50% off deals and I tend to find the best dresses there!

In addition to her blog shop, you should also check out her vintage etsy shop!