Structure.

Corset crop top: Asos

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Skirt: Asos

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

Bag: Longchamp, thrifted

The Hat is On.

Oh my God -- summer is finally here and it is PISSED! I don't know what made me think I'd need this sweater for the supposedly chilly morning. It's finally sweltering and I effing love it. I love sweat and humidity and cool showers at the end of the night.

I also love summer dresses. That includes all varieties, but in this case, the kind that are made of stretch cotton and not very big. I play all seasons to the hilt! Michigan gets down to below zero in winter and above 90 in summer, you can't miss your chance to enjoy any extreme. :) 

Dress: Asos

Sweater: Thrifted

Shoes: Baby Phat

Hat: Antique store in Ohio

Purple Wayfarer knockoff sunglasses: Target

Holiday weekend.

MC and I enjoyed a long holiday weekend, despite the fact that I got sick right in the middle of it and couldn't do much of anything for like 24 hours. That just meant more time laying in the backyard, which I should have suspected would result in photos. MC wanted to capture my "hotness" (both literal and figurative -- it was like 90°F/32°C out).

Wikipatterns!

Thank you to Kirsty from Brand New Armour for sending me the link to the dangerously addictive site Wikipatterns! If you're a fan of practically ANY vintage style, I highly recommend checking it out. 

Kirsty sent me straight to the bridal section, which immediately reminded me of how I could never, ever choose just one single era of vintage style to adore! When you see so many examples of beauty and style from the various decades, don't you just want to revel in each and every one, and dress from a different age every day of the week? Don't you just see yourself in everything? I can't be the only one. (I know this because MC took the liberty of making each of these into me!)

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Sweet Inspiration

Do elements of this outfit feel eerily familiar? It was inspired by a kind of shitty, kind of awesome movie. 

Leggings: BDG
Shoes: Steve Madden
Shawl: Street vendor in Auckland
Top: VS
Wool socks: MC's

  

MC and I had a mind to watch Sweet and Low Down, but when we searched for it haplessly on Netflix Streaming, the best it could offer was Sweet November, a 2001 drama about a manic-pixie-dreamgirl (Charlize Theron) who teaches a stuffy advertising exec (Keanu Reeves) how to loosen up and love life. 
 

So being two wry, jaded, professional critics, we started watching it as a goof. We made fun of the ridiculous dialogue, the asinine premise, and Keanu's acting. Oh, but the story doesn't end there -- do you know what happened after that? Somewhere between the bohemian hand crocheted scarves, the free spirited cartwheels on the beach, and the stereotypical gay upstairs neighbors, we got legitimately hooked into the movie and in the end, it made both of us cry!

So much for our hardened professional cred. But at least we can still make fun of Charlize's "I am adorably kooky" 90's wardrobe!

Despite the film's proven ability to wrangle the hearts of sarcastic jerks like the two of us, you can't deny that in this film, Charlize dresses like a semi-hip homeless lady and acts like a teenaged undiagnosed bipolar. I had to try and pay tribute.

Don't worry, I doubt Charlize will be mad at me for making fun of her in Sweet November. She already did! Anybody who's seen the comedic majesty that is Arrested Development knows that her unforgettable arc on the show as the, uh, quirky Rita is CLEARLY a parody of her own character from Sweet November! The lead character Michael falls in love with her because he thinks her mismatched outfits and giddy outbursts are the wild and carefree manifestations of her manic-pixie-dreamgirl spirit -- since she's also gorgeous enough to pull it off. Except the real reason she dresses and acts like that is because (SPOILER ALERT) she's retarded. (Using this word literally, not as offensive slang for "lame" or something. For further clarification, please see the comment thread.)

I have to admit, however, that I still kind of dig her style though -- even though her character's fashion sense is supposed to be a punchline.

Final thought: Keanu's post-life-makeover wardrobe in Sweet November doesn't deserve its own post, but not because it isn't, on occasion, even worse. Especially this paisley shirt it looks like he borrowed from my mom.