rainbow rockabilly

The 80s must have been a really fun decade to live in when it came to personal style. Acid wash, sequins, glitter, crazy colors and prints, lace, tulle, legwarmers, and the list goes on. I questioned my aunt (whom I've always known to have a style of dress all her own) about how it was like to live in the 80s, and without hesitation she replied, "The 80s were really fun, you could dress any way you wanted, any style you could think of." And I believe her. This is an 80s does 50s dress. You can tell when a garment was made by a number of things, the size on the tag, metal zipper or buttons, and lots of other things I won't get into right now (we'll save that for a more detailed post). But this dress in particular screamed the 80s, by #1 - The brightly colored plaid fabric, and #2 - The quintessential 80s font used on the tag.  Nowadays we can pretty much dress however we want to as well, but when I look at the rainbow color scheme, and awesome 50s inspired cut of this dress, I know that it was definitely a wild-style free for all back then, with a lot more things being produced that you could choose from.





80s does 50s plaid shirt dress - thrifted
blue espadrilles made in spain - thrifted vintagebrass horse buckle waist cinch belt - urbanoutfitters super sale
yellow weaved bag - thrifted vintage
orange dahlia hair clip - etsy

faux fancy

"what poor and unfortunate creature had to die for you to wear that?"
"11 teddy bears" - retro minx

It's been pretty chilly in Southern California today, considering we've been spoiled with weather in the low 70s this past week.  And I hear we are expected to have relatively warm weather this coming weekend.  So I decided while I wait for the warmer weather I'd use this opportunity to wear this vintage faux fur caplet I picked up while thrifting in a Salvation Army this past summer.  It was one of those finds that are fantastic, but terribly unseasonal so it was forgotten and hidden in the back of my closet up until very recently.  I don't wear it too much because 1) I'm in Southern California, so it's rarely cold enough to warrant wearing something like this and 2) It looks really fancy.  But who knows, I consider myself a fancy sort of gal and so I just may start wearing it more often, like when I go grocery shopping.  I mean it does gets pretty chilly in the milk/butter/cheese sections. ;)

 


faux fur caplet - thrifted vintage
floral chiffon blouse - forever 21 (a long time ago)
pink satin gloves - from my mother
purple front pleat a line skirt - thrifted vintage
nude peep toes - thrifted vintage

p.s. if you recognize where the first quote is from, we should be best friends.

will you love me tomorrow - the shirelles

you pretty, boyish thing.

i had a thing for the 1920s when i was younger, and aspired to be a flapper aka a pretty little boy when i grew up.  i blame it on the silent films i watched when my mom would leave the tv on tcm.  when i was about 6 my mom cut my hair into a asymmetrical bob (like this, minus the bangs), and kept it pretty short until i started competitive hula.  once i was free from the competitive demands of twirl flags (pep flags) during the end of my senior year of high school, i chopped of my long, luscious, and envied locks into a bob like this.  i returned to this style yet again sometime while i was in college, but with a different version called a shingle bob: a more boyish version with the hair on the neck shorter and tapered to a v.  the last two times my peers would say i was copying audrey tautou in amélie, but i'm pretty damn sure i was stealing louise brook's iconic bob.

i think it's time to cop her style again ;)

photo source.

Bonnie and Clyde

One of my favorite films is Bonnie and Clyde (1967) directed by Arthur Penn, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  The film was beautifully shot, pushed boundaries in terms of the portrayal of violence and sex in film, and the screen was graced by the charming Warren Beatty, and pretty Faye Dunaway.  And of course I can't forget about Faye's Wardrobe, which although wasn't historically accurate, with the shorter length skirts and lower cut blouses (hey they had to keep with the times, it was made in the 60s, it's hollywood, and let's face it, Faye was a fox), I simply adored all of her outfits.

Like many or most films based on true events, it was romanticized, but upon doing more research on the crime duo I came across some poems written by Bonnie, most of which were written while she was in jail.  And as it turns out, Bonnie was in fact a bit of a romantic, and I like how her poems have a bard-like style, especially the one entitled "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde," which is a poem depicting their exploits.  Yes Bonnie Parker was a criminal/accomplice, but when I read her poems, and think about how head over heals she probably was over Clyde, I can't help but harbor a soft spot for her.

I'm obviously a romantic too.

"...Then I fell for the "line" of a "junker",
A slim devotee of hop,
And those dreams in the juice of a poppy;
Had got me before I could stop.

But I didn't care while he loved me,
Just to lie in his arms was a delight,
But his ardour grew cold and he left me;
In a Chinatown "hop-joint" one night..."

- excerpt from "The Street Girl" by Bonnie Parker

photo one source.  photo two source.
poem source.

new art

paper doll (paper, acrylic, pen, fabric, collage)

librarian phase part deux

a new year...hmmm...anyway,

i dressed like a librarian again.



 
 
1950s embroidered cardigan - vintage (monk vintage, brooklyn, ny)
fancy tank - brandy&melville
tweed skirt - vintage
nude peep toes - vintage