Penguin dress

This dress is made of really simple cotton, but the styling is so tuxedo-ish that it always makes me want to seat people at a 1950's Parisian restaurant or accept the Oscar for Best Actor.

Dress: Sugar 17 via TJ mother effin' Max
Shoes: Fairy Tales Are True via UO
Clutch: vintage via the Getup

Shall I compare this dress to a summer's day?

Sometimes you fall in love with a pretty vintage dress, and sometimes you fall hard. Case in point, this adorable 70's babydoll. It's seen so many days that I had to sew in little darts to account for parts of the smocking that's lost all it's stretch, but a little obstacle like that can't stop true love.

Dress: vintage via the Getup
Shoes: vintage via Ebay
Earrings and Sunglasses: Target

The real thing. Sort of.

The only trouble with vintage dresses is that, even in the age of Ebay, it can be tough finding one in the exact style you want -- let alone in your size. That's where the talented ladies behind reproduction and vintage-style labels like Stop Staring come in, taking authentic vintage fabrics, patterns, and styles and making gorgeous clothes for modern shoppers.

This dress, however, is not from Stop Staring. It's from a similar line called Lilli Jean -- but unfortunately, they appear to have gone out of business! It's a shame too. This dress is beautiful, comfortable, and well made.

Dress: Lilli Jean
Shoes: Target







I really adore this vintage case from the Getup. It's Elizabeth Arden brand and was designed to carry makeup (evidenced by the fact that it still smells of talc!), but it reminds me wonderfully of Grace Kelly's Marc Cross overnight case in Rear Window.

Multiple memes!

About a thousand years ago, the lovely Lucrecia from Fashion is Poison and Dotti from Dotti' Dots both tagged me for two awesome memes. Thanks to both of these lovely ladies for thinking of me!

5 Things Meme from Lucrecia:

5 Things found in my purse:
1. Giant wallet/clutch thing containing wallet, keys, and cell phone.
2. Makeup bag containing three-tiered mini pallette and a ton of random lipsticks and what not.
3. LeSportsac pouch containing Advil, allergy medicine, tissues, ear plugs, hand sanitizer, mini bug spray, etc.
4. Whatever book I'm presently reading.
5. Sunglasses.

5 Things found in my wallet:
1. Driver's License.
2. Check card.
3. Random pick-up tags from cobbler, tailor, etc.
4. Office key card/ID featuring embarrassing, dated picture.
5. Annoying, bulky insurance cards.

5 Favorite things in my room:
1. French bulletin board holding my brooches and sunglasses.
2. Sewing machine.
3. Hooks for earrings and necklaces.
4. Repurposed 1930's metal locker housing pretties and sundries.
5. Chest full of socks and underwear and pajamas.

5 Things I've always wanted to do:
1. Run a farm or ranch as a refuge for animals in need.
2. Have reams of impossibly long, thick, healthy hair.
3. Learn and retain all the countless facts and stories known by my dad, who's a historian.
4. Sing with my band in front of an unreasonably large crowd.
5. Make my living as a writer.


5. Things I'm currently into:
1. My 1949 Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook.
2. Baking cakes.
3. Remembering to paint my nails.
4. My iPhone 
5. My cats

5 impressions of my tagger:
1. She mixes dressy and casual perfectly.
2. Is super creative.
3. Appreciates a good pair of moon boots.
4. Has enviously great hair.
5. Has excellent taste in beauty products.

Book Meme from Dotti:

Instructions: Grab the nearest book, turn to page 123, and transcribe the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th sentences.



The nearest book is that vintage cookbook. Here goes: "Pour into bouillon cups and chill until firm. Just before serving draw a fork through the jelly to break it up. Place a slice of egg in each cup. Garnish with lemon wedges, catchup or horse-radish."

It's pretty crazy that just 60 years ago, people were eating savory jello. Anyway, as usual I'm too shy to tag, but they're fun memes, and I'll edit this post to tag you if you want!

If you can't beat it, join it.

Days this hot and muggy and sweltering are a definite inspiration to hide inside in the air conditioning, but our recent heat wave has been going on too damn long to remain deprived of the outdoors. A walk in the greenery under these conditions, however, requires a paper-thin wisp of a cotton dress.

Nancy Drew and the case of the high waisted shorts.

I have a weird obsession with young adult novels from the 70's and 80's. I think it's because these book were already old and dated by the time I was looking at them on the shelves of my elementary school library, so now they seem doubly nostalgic. Anyway, a while back my boyfriend bought me a whole box of them, so I thought I'd put down the book I'm actually reading (Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk) and pull these dusty gems out for a little lawn reading.

Shorts: Thrifted
Top: Thrifted
Shoes: Tahari

I don't know who's weirder, you or me.

This outfit is inspired by the disturbing but nonetheless fashionable Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, setting the bar for 12 year old prostitutes in Martin Scorsese movies everywhere.

Blouse: Kimchi and Blue via UO
Shorts: Lux via UO
Shoes: Vintage
Hat: Target
Sunglasses: Target

All hands on deck.

Part cruise director, part stewardess, this crazy vintage sailor top also feels a little like a costume out of a musical, preferably one that takes place in the posh Jazz Age, where I could dance clumsily in the chorus as Tennis Girl Number 4. Anyway, I tried to showcase the top's Broadway potential by enacting a few Gene Kelly style moves, but with minimal success. 'A' for effort, but there was no rain, I'm not a tap dancer, and Gene never had this kind of goofy expression on his face while he cut a rug.

Top: Vintage via the Getup

Tennis skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Thrifted

Close to the edge.

For some reason I got it in my head that I wanted to get a full shot of this outfit while walking on the curb. But of course, on this particular morning, I couldn't for the life of me keep my balance. You'll have to take it from me that my lack of equilibrium was not the result of pre-breakfast boozing, but regardless, the best picture I got was where I'm throwing my hands in the air and yelling belligerently about how the curb kept moving.

Shirt: The Beautiful Ones via UO
Skirt: Vintage via the Getup
Shoes: Target
Bracelets: Mostly thrifted

Black and white and red all over.

This dress is a little slinky I guess, but with the exception of certain rude and cultureless girls with orangy tans and rolled down booty shorts, I tend to feel that most accusations of clothing being "risque" or "slutty" are remnants of Puritanism. I also have a bias for scoop-neck dresses.

Dress: Tag got mangled so I can't tell via Marshall's
Belt: Pepe via Marshall's
Shoes: Thrifted
Sunglasses: Thrifted

Red belt, red shoes, red lips. This is Lip Indulgence lip gloss by Lola in Sangria. For a gal like me with super pale skin, I find it's the best shade for when I want my pucker to be crimson -- the hints of orange in many reds will make me look like some kind of awkward public-access tv host. The downside is that the texture of this gloss is kind of weak; it spreads unevenly so you have to fix it in a mirror.

My boyfriend vs. my camera.

Nobody wins.

Tank: Franz Ferdinand concert
Jeans: BDG via UO
Sunglasses: H&M