Dreamy

Louise and Ewa.

Print Picks

Just a little Etsy tease from the many, many beautiful things I photographed today.

Ethnic-Print Dress

Thankfully the maker of this a-lined ethnic-print dress decided to keep the cut simple when creating something with this fabulous, fabulous, fabric. Although I am certainly wrong on one, this print feels both Native American and African to me.

I dressed with the Native American side in mind, pairing it with a fringed leather handbag, wooden-heeled peep-toe wedges, and turquoise-colored hovering bead earrings.

100% thrifted, 100% vintage.

Photo Progress At Last

I stumbled upon my dress form over a month ago now, and have since been struggling to take decent photos. The (lack of) lighting and oddly colored walls in our house are just really unsuitable for this task.

A super generous coworker let me borrow a couple back drops and professional lighting for the weekend, and it seems to be doing the trick. Here is our dining room turned photo studio, and one sweet floral and swiss dot dress that had its big photo op today.

Go-To Summer Dress: Chambray Comfort

It has been a really hot summer, already, and this dress keeps getting pulled out of the closet to help me through the worst days.

Why do I love it? Besides being as comfortable as a housedress, well, because it is a housedress, I was sold by the super-soft chambray, giant pockets, and pleated seams. And, with a belt thrown on, I feel comfortable wearing this housedress out of those house.

The Evil Temptress That is Anthropologie

Anthropologie is one of the few 'new stuff' stores with the ability to make me feel all consumerist. Their often vintage inspired, always over-the-top beautiful, clothes and housewares bring out every bit of giddy girl in me. The store is perfectly arranged, smells lovely, and really is just a big 'oh' and 'ah' fest.

It's always the dresses that get me wishing that I could temporarily ignore my thrifty nature (and low bank balance).

On a shopping trip last night with my dear lady-friend, Megan, I tried on the Chromatic Canvas Shirtdress. This ultra-flattering, brightly colored painterly-striped frock looked perfect with the vintage nude sling-back wedges I happened to be wearing. So perfect, it makes me want to restyle this model, and leaves me wondering, why is she not wearing the thin black belt that comes with this beauty? At least on me, I liked the added definition at the waist, giving the dress a more vintage-feeling fit.

I did not see the other dress, Primula, that caused me a bit of keyboard drool, in the store. Probably a good thing because I am not sure if my power to say no could stand up to that darling print and peek-a-boo lace.

Once again, I will resist temptation, yet take the inspiration. Which this time means keeping my eyes peeled for a shirtdress of the brighter, funner, and saucier variety than those already residing in my closet.

To Denim or Not to Denim

So we have all noticed that denim, and lots of it, is all sorts of in this season, right? I am thinking this '80s Jordache vest would add just the right amount over an ultra feminine white or floral dress.

This is in my 'to be sold' pile, but I may have to give it a whirl first.

Dress Painting

Crossed the Line

Sorry fellow thrift shoppers of my fair city, I have crossed the line.

I have resisted purchasing items in the past with the express intent to resell, but lately my position on this has changed. For years, I felt it was only fair to give another lady the chance to prance around town in the fabulous vintage shoes or a dresses that I could only wish were in my size.

When the guy from a local vintage shop came to our yard sale a few years ago, I resisted him buying the clothes I had for sale. My husband talked some sense in me- 'um, we are having a yard sale to get rid of stuff, and wouldn't making $200 before 8:00 a.m. be nice?' Yes, it was, but I envisioned ladies who would do the wearing and enjoying themselves to score at my sale.

The less romantic reality is, there are plenty of folks in town scooping up vintage and turning it for profit online or in shops. Since I have lived in Indianapolis I have seen the previously mentioned reseller, arms loaded, dashing around a thrift store, oh, I don't know, probably a couple hundred times. Seriously.

This all really hit home after seeing a dress I had recently donated back to the Salvation Army for sale at the Savvy Bazaar, a yard sale type shindig set up in a parking lot a Broad Ripple salon. The day I stopped by there were vendors selling vintage or their own handmade wares with tasty grill smell and blaring reggae filling the air. I must say, this is a pretty sweet idea. But back to the dress- this was one I had not worn in years and donated back to both free up some space in my closet, and to give it the opportunity to be worn and enjoyed again. Here it was, for sale for $16.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have done some selling before. This was cleaning my closet of clothes no longer fit, that I brought home really hoping to fit, but did not, or that never made it to the alterations shop. These were shoes I swore I could squeeze into, but were too painfully tight to actually wear, or handbags I decided to part with as my collection grew. And a couple items that were just too beautiful and delicate not to possess that I later felt silly for coveting so.

Of course neither of these pairs of darling kicks fit my giant hooves, yet this time they came home with me. Vintage is what I love, what I am passionate about, and what I am good at. I have accepted that others profit from it, and now, I am ready to give it a shot too.

Weekend Thrifing Date

Although thrift stores are typically a solo trip for me these days, I am excited to have a thrifting date with my dear friend Megan this coming weekend. I will be honest, this is one of the few things I have a difficult time sharing. I am a greedy little shopper, I want everything worth a damn in the store to be mine, all mine.

I will do my best to ignore this ugly instinct for the day, and enjoy some much needed time with one of my favorite ladies.

The last time I had consistent thrifting partners was in high school. Back in those days, several of my girl friends and I would pile into one of our junk cars, and head out as a pack.

For a couple reasons this worked.

We were of varying sizes, a few being of more vintage-friendly modelesque proportions, and then the other two of us having a little more junk in the trunk, as they say.

One of these teenage shopping trips sticks out in my memory as a happy time, in a happy place. I believe there was five of us that rummaged through the downtown Salvation Army in our hometown. Along with several other items, we all walked out with a vintage sundress of our own. One of my girlfriends found a pair of vintage brown Levi corduroys that I ended up taking home since they fit me the best. These were a staple of my wardrobe for several years before they were completely worn out.

We were also young and optimistic that the vintage gravy train would never end.

After years of slowly declining hauls from thrift stores, I am concerned that there might be a day when cheap vintage finds dry up. This is where that slightly possessive nature of my thrift shopping comes from. After all, the clothes I love are getting hipper, but certainly not any younger. I have had to retire many a piece of vintage from my own closet that I have worn to its death over the years. The more this happens, the more I begin to fearfully wonder, will I be able to replace this?

On my shopping trip with Megan this weekend I am confident that the good company will keep me distracted enough to keep the hunt from getting too serious, and that we will both walk away with at least one prized find. And suddenly I am left wishing I still had that sundress I scored many years ago, but more on that later.

Look Who's on NYTimes.com

A couple days ago, there was a great article on The New York Times' website about the city's many thrift stores. Along with it, was a link for readers to upload photos of their own favorite vintage piece. As someone who frequently enjoys the multimedia elements of their website, I thought, what the hell.

See if you can find me, in my wedding dress, here.

I chose my wedding dress, because it is certainly my most photographed piece of clothing (thank you Kris Arnold), but also because it really is special. Here is what I had to say about it:

As a compulsive thrift store shopper, I have a closet full of vintage that I love dearly and wear daily, but my wedding dress is the special piece I love the most. Something new, and from a bridal store, is just not my style. Instead, I purchased this blue vintage prom dress off Ebay about a month before my wedding. It cost $120.

In the few months between our engagement and wedding, I scoured all my favorite thrift stores, Ebay, and Etsy for a vintage cocktail or prom dress from the '50s or early '60s that was my size and less than a few hundred dollars.

When I was almost to the point of giving up, and wearing something out of my closet, I stumbled upon this dress.

I loved that it was not white, and was completely sold by the ruching on the bodice and giant skirt with ruffles of tulle. Best of all, it was vintage and unique, and I could imagine a woman from another time putting it on for a special night all of her own.

After the wedding, I planned on reselling the gown since it's one that I never plan on wearing again, and part of me wanted someone else to be able to have a magical night in it.

Almost two years later, I am very thankful that my husband encouraged me to keep it. Stowed away in our closet, in a little white box, it's a piece of my history, our history, and I am pretty convinced that is enough magic for one dress.

Vinyl Inspirations

My morning started off with Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's Some Velvet Morning stuck in my head, with several more of Nancy's hits to follow throughout my workday.

Sifting through my records for Boots when I got home, I was reminded of how much I love Nancy's cuffed boots and Breton-ish striped shirt and tights pictured on the cover.

I pulled a few other records for your vintage inspiration pleasure.

My personal favorite of the bunch is Ann and Nancy Wilson's late '70s-meets renaissance fair-meets psychedelic gypsies style on the cover of Heart's Little Queen. Nancy's hot boots, floral skirt, over-sized waist sinching belt, and flowing lace blouse all topped with a red cape is exactly my cup of tea.

Lovely Louise

LOOKBOOK.nu: "Hyères." by Louise Ebel: "Vintage Dress, Topshop Shoes, Topshop Bag"

Oh Louise, how I adore your ability to complement vintage with contemporary pieces. I find this a great feat, as do throngs of LookBookers.

If you have not admired Louise, and her blog Pandora, you should. With Paris as the backdrop, excellent photography captures this beautiful woman, in her almost as beautiful clothes.

I showed my husband Louise's blog when talking with him the other night about perhaps trying to shoot some photos of me in my best vintage, and putting them out there for who knows who to see. He response was, "well of course you'd have photos of yourself on your blog if they looked like that."

I will not look as lovely as Louise, but when I get over being camera shy, I might show more of myself to the world. My closet just might be have to be shared.

Slips in Detail

With what I assume to be many less women wearing slips regularly these days, the few times I have come across them while browsing the lingerie section of a new stuff store, none have come close to charming. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are absolutely lovely new slips available- that I cannot afford.

I, on the other hand, will be sticking to charming vintage slips, under my charming vintage dresses. So many of the vintage slips I find feel special. There is always a detail to adore; a bow here, a slit trimmed in lace there, a ruffle around the hem.

Parisian Rejects

I found these photos while just now getting around to cleaning off the memory card from last summer's vacation for my trip next week to New York City. These were skipped over for our vacation photo blog, and not saved in the file of photos we hope to some day print for an album, but they provide inspiration for my upcoming trip.

Yeah, I ran around Paris in pretty vintage dresses, and gasp, even light colored ones, and a comfy pair of vintage sandals. I survived, and even enjoyed myself. As I am already dreading packing four days worth of clothes into only a carry on, I will remember how nice it felt to feel pretty in one of the prettiest cities in the world. I will be packing a dress, or four, and at least one pair of vintage sandals.

After our peacefully dreamlike visit to Pere Lachaise Cemetery, my husband and I were briefly lost in a neighborhood that felt more genuinely Parisian than much of the city we saw during our week-long stay. We stepped into this cafe for un cafe, the restroom, and to get our bearings. Although I did not feel comfortable pulling my camera out for the full on tourist shot, I did steal this one from under the bar just to have a small reminder of the place.

Leaving the cafe, on our walk to the metro, we came across a street market where we bumped elbows with real Parisians (literally, they are seriously aggressive shoppers) over pristine produce, seemingly unending varieties of fresh meats, bubbling vats of sausages and sauerkraut, and bins of ladies under-things.

These two spots, and the few blocks of sidewalk in between, will remind me that the unplanned can sometimes be the most memorable and beautiful part of being anywhere but here.

Pattern of Prints

I am not intimidated by prints. My closet is full of them, and I usually feel more comfortable constructing an outfit around at least one. These are some current favorites, all from vintage dresses.