Old Things: Me, My Clothes and My Outfits

I'm not sure if I'm feeling nostalgic because it's my birthday week or if I'm gravitating to older things in my wardrobe because I too am getting to be an older thing. Either way this past week, I've been dressing in some wardrobe veterans. I've updated them with some new accessories, but these are some items that have been in my closet for quite a while now.

Also there seems to be a recurring "3s" theme. I'm in my third decade, I'm leaving the age of 33 and here I am this past week in three outfits inspired by three different decades:


1950s

Oldie but Goodie: Vintage Blue and White Dress: Somewhere in Toronto. Had it for so long I don't remember where I bought it.
New Favourite: Vintage Peep Toe Shoes: Tree and Kimball Market
Tan belt: H&M

1960s

Oldie but Goodie: Turquoise Necklace: J.Crew
New Favourite: Vintage Navy and White Max Mara Fringed Mod Shoes: Thrifted
Orange Dress: DVF
Navy Cardigan: H&M

1970s

Oldies but Goodies: Vintage Jean Jacket and Vintage Floral dress: Jean Jacket: Kensington Market, Toronto. Dress: Mintage, Vancouver
New Favourite: Vintage Parrot Scarf: Borrowed from the shop. See here.
Brown woven belt: Club Monaco
Sunglasses: BCBG
Gold Sandals: Sam and Libby

Hats Off (or on) To Vintage

For the past few months, I've been growing out my cropped hair and to help get me through the in-between-style-stage, I've been wearing lots of hats and head scarves.

Here are some recent outfits featuring vintage hats and scarves:

Vintage Surf Green Wool Fedora: St. George's Woollen Mills Ltd. Thrifted in Victoria.
Surf Green Blouse: Bedo
Navy Blue Wide Leg Trousers: Habitual
Hot Pink Belt: J.Crew

Vintage Watercolour and Navy Striped Scarf: Lanvin, Paris. Thrifted in Vancouver. Possibly making it's way into the shop, but I may have fallen too much in love with it to post.
Vintage Yellow Tweed Coat: Thrifted more than 10 years ago in Victoria.
Blue Tunic Blouse: Uniqlo
Rolled jeans: Banana Republic
Vintage Tawny and Tan Oxfords: Thrifted in Vancouver. Borrowed from the shop. See here.

Vintage Red Wool Fedora: Vintage Halston. From Wildfell Hall Vintage shop on Etsy.
Vintage Black Leather Trench Coat: From Cabaret Vintage in Toronto more than seven years ago.
Vintage Sheer Black Paisley Blouse: Handmade by my Mom in the 1970s.
Wide Leg Jeans: Banana Republic
Dark Grey Boots: J.Crew

Vintage Corduroy Fedora: Gift from my brother-in-law. Believe it was thrifted somewhere on Vancouver Island.
Vintage Plaid Trench Coat: From Bungalow Vintage in Toronto, bought more than five years ago.

Stripes: Stripped Down

I love stripes. Always have. I remember one of my favourite gymnastics bodysuits (yes I was a competitive gymnast), was a full length unitard (yikes) that was black in the back, light surf green in the front with a cream racing stripe running down each side. Essentially three giant stripes made up my suit.

At a party we hosted in Toronto a few years ago, a girl came who I didn't know well and who had never been to our place before. I remember her saying "boy you like stripes." I hadn't given it too much thought, but then I looked around our apartment and saw we had a striped duvet cover, a striped shower curtain, a striped couch and I was wearing a striped dress. I think I may have even bought striped paper plates for the party.


Here's an outfit that I wore the other day. Here I mix stripes. Mixing patterns and prints can be a mildly intimidating process. This is about a 0.5 on the difficulty scale of mixing patterns as I keep the print and the colour the same and I'm only mixing two items. The only thing that I change up is the scale of the stripe. (Note: that even the background in the photo is kind of striped)

For some serious print/ pattern mixing check out the Glamourai blog. Man does she have some crazy good style, she also is an expert pattern/ print mixer.

My Outfit
Striped 80s T-shirt Dress: deLuxe Junk Co.
Wide Black Belt: Thrifted
Striped Wool Scarf: Club Monaco
Leather Jacket: Mackage

These Could "Be Yours" To Wear For Your "Be Mine"

Valentine's Day picks from the shop...

This abstract rose and hexagon print dress would be a perfect outfit for a semi-casual dinner and drinks date. Pair with heeled boots and a blazer. Maybe during dinner, let one of the buttons fall open.



Take your pick for red skirts. One to go dancing. One to show off your curves. And one that seductively unbuttons up the side.







Going for a nice walk outside on the big romantic "hallmark" holiday? If you live in a milder climate (like here in Vancouver), this honeysuckle cape will have your honey guessing what's underneath.



For the follower who likes to walk on the wild side...something animal print might be more up your alley.

Animal Print Shoes



Animal Print Hat



Check out page 1 of the shop for more Valentine's Day inspirations.

Spring Ready to Wear (by me please)

I really wanted to do this post in the fall, when the Spring Ready To Wear collections were showing, but alas October through December got away from me. And yes, I’m aware Pre-Fall 2011 collections are now showing. But I actually think it is a good time to post some spring fashion- nothing like escaping the January blahs and dreary weather by looking at gorgeous spring/summer clothing.

While I've never been a slave to labels or crazy for Fashion Weeks etc, I was pretty smitten with many of the Spring 2011 collections. All those pretty dresses flouncing down the runways- how could I not take notice?! Here are some of my favourites.

Luxurious and Exotic at YSL

Image Courtesy of Style.com

Perfect Minimalism at Chloe

Image Courtesy of Style.com

Graphic Crispness at Celine

Image Courtesy of Style.com

HUGE swoon over everything at Jonathan Saunders

Image Courtesy of Style.com

Delicious Prints and Colours at Prada

Image Courtesy of Style.com

My Kind of Colour Palette at Fendi

Image Courtesy of Style.com

Be Seen in Green

I don't really document my outfits very often, but I do enjoy looking at other people's daily outfit blogs as they give me some inspiration. But last week, I had the opportunity to cover ECO Fashion Week for the Vancouver Observer and I felt it was fitting to share one of my outfits.

This is what I wore to the opening party. Since I don't have much eco-friendly fashion in my wardrobe (or so I thought), I decided to wear head to toe vintage. Turns out that I actually have quite the environmentally-friendly wardrobe as vintage is very eco chic.

I really did go head to toe vintage:



Coat: I bought this yellow, tweed, satin-lined, bracelet sleeve coat 11 years ago at a Value Village in Victoria. I knew back then that it was a fantastic find and it was only $19. I think that it may very well be my favourite vintage piece I've ever owned.

Dress: I got this indigo button up 40s style union worker dress on my first trip to Portland with my vintage partner in crime, Amy. I had the sleeves shortened and the skirt hemmed. I bought eight other dresses on that trip.

Shoes: I found these plaid peep toe 80s Stuart Weitzman heels on Etsy from She Hearts Vintage

Earrings: I just found these flower shaped clip-ons a couple of weeks ago at a church thrift sale.

Black slip: My mom's from the 80s. I told you I was head to toe!

Here are my three stories for the Vancouver Observer:

Eco-fashion gets a makeover
Green is chic
Gorgeous Garments

Leggings Are Not Pants

Nuff said...


Photo courtesy of the Facebook group "Leggings Are Not Pants." Become a fan here.

Hybrid goes Bad

I never got these shoes. They are everywhere in my neighbourhood. Hybrid cars?.....great! hybrid tomatoes....yes! hybrid boots and sandals? nope. I'll be glad when it's too cold for toes to be out and then real boots will have to reveal themselves.

Green Eyed Thrifting Monster

It's a fact that NY is a great city, tons of stuff to do, city that never sleeps and all that, but when it comes to thrifting, this city royally sucks. $20 for a t-shirt is not a thrift store price and neither is $40 for shoes....so unfortunately I sometimes get a case of the green eyed monster when I see other vintage ladies on Twitter announcing a carload of thrifted goodies. This dilemma has turned me into the Marco Polo of thrifting, I go in search of vintage all over the city and beyond, determined to find pockets of clothing I can in fact re-sell. A wonderful source this summer is stoop sales, there's a neighborhood in Brooklyn which seems to have sprouted at least 5 vintage-stocked stoop sales per weekend. So far I have met a stylist selling 12 years of vintage inventory, an antiques dealer who sells slightly damaged goods every few weeks outside her apartment and one incredibly lovely lady who has stacks of vintage patterns, magazines and clothes lined up outside her apartment building. $5 1940's dress? yes please! $15 Edwardian robe...yes! these are like my own teeny thrift stores right out on the street....which makes me very much dread winter and these vintage ladies retreating indoors with their wares....




cat picture above source: ekaputra blog

Been Caught Stealing

The great thing about having an Etsy shop is that you can raid it when you have nothing to wear!
Thought I'd try these Teal High Waisted numbers on the other morning and turns out I love 'em, might have to de-list.....mmmmmm.......what to do.....?

Super Socco* Stylin'

Have you been following the World Cup? What about some of the World Cup fashions? The fans and players always have great sporto looks, but I’m loving what the managers are wearing on the sidelines. The Germans have these impeccably tailored trench coats with scarves. While the English are sporting lovely grey suits.

In honour of the World Cup, I've picked out some outfits that represent the eight teams that are left in the competition. With these vintage pieces from Etsy sellers, you can be supportive of your team and still look stylish (and not like a Football hooligan). Although that look is completely acceptable for the next few weeks if that's your thing.

Spain

Catch David Villa's eye in this lovely tiered Bohemian Dress from the Maiden Vintage.


Paraguay

Store your face paint, stats, camera and team scarf in this stylish Parguayan Cowhide Briefcase from Time Echo Vintage.


Ghana

Will Ghana stampede it's way through to the semi's? Find out while looking good in this Elephant Wrap Skirt from Wildfell Hall.


Brazil

They may not go with your yellow and green, but these Brazilian Sandals would look great with an itsy bitsy bikini on Ipanema Beach.


Uruguay

In between games you'll need something to do. What about a game of Canasta with this vintage Canasta Card Set from Sunny Day Vintage. Did you know Canasta was invented in Uruguay?


Argentina

Get your gaucho on in these fantastic Argentinian Riding Boots from jessjamesjake.


Netherlands

Of course if you wear orange and support the Dutch, you are going to need some clogs to complete your outfit. Sweet Clothes of Mine just happens to have two pairs of clogs.

Germany

Enjoy a beer and sausage while you take in the game in this Cobalt Blue Dirndl from Dear Golden Vintage.


* Super Socco was a Canadian sports drink for kids in the 80s. Check out the amazing super socco ad from the 80s here.

Living in a Fish Bowl

As luck (or bad luck?) would have it I accidentally killed my neighbour's fish (Fillmore) and consequently found myself with an empty bowl. I think these scarves look pretty great in here and it also means each time I open the closet door one doesn't fall off onto the floor. Got a clothing storage secret? please share. I'm sorry Fillmore.

Purple Deer Giveaway!

We are so very excited to have this wee bag as a giveaway on the FAB Purple Deer blog!
Please click the Deer link and just comment to enter, easy-peasy! This is a sweet Dooney & Bourke bag with just enough room to pop your keys and cash...and maybe a phone. All you need in summer right? Thanks Purple Deer!

Amy & Adrienne x

I love corm. And avacado.

Love a good spelling mistake. I spot them in restaurants and point to the menu while cracking up and the boy looks at me as if to say "what the hell am I doing with this nerd?". But I still love them, 'avacado' is of course the most pedestrian of vegetable errors but I came across this one in my neighbourhood this week and thought it was brilliant. It's obviously when a worm crosses some corn. Look out, we've got some corm here!

Those Are Some Norse Dishes

I love that people think of me when they have old things to give away. Especially when those old things are a very cool set of Norwegian dishes from the 1960s. Recently my Aunty Judy emailed me and asked if I wanted the Tor Viking set of dishes that she had bought in 1966. I'm sure you already know what my response was. We did the hand off last weekend and I am pretty stoked with my "new to me" dish set. AND the set looks pretty sweet with our 1960s two-toned green metal kitchen table to boot. Thanks Aunty J!