a bit of fluff

i was feeling under the weather for the past week, battling a doozy of a cold that transformed into a slight case of bronchitis.  feeling ill and having to spend a week not looking your best does a number on a gal's self esteem, and so i found myself turning to the usual methods of comfort, including soup and snacks.  but tell me, what's a better get well present than a pretty new dress to prance around in when you're feeling a little better?   haha there are a few things, and for the most part has to do with food, but let's not get into that.

a couple of days ago this dress arrived from sugarlips.  when i had initially seen the dress online i knew that the style was a far cry from the 1940s/1950s vintage inspired/retro style i've grown accustomed to.  the crochet and braiding detailing screams 1970s boho chic, but i couldn't help but be drawn to the fun art deco-esque triangle print, and the sexy but sweet open shoulders.  flash forward a week or so later, i find myself feverishly opening a package, slipping out of a 1950s striped number, and into this soft flowy dress.  after a minute or so of twirling around i realized that the bottom half of the dress was a perfect circle skirt.  so with the help of a petticoat i added a bit of fluff to the dress, giving it that 1950s full skirt silhouette.  throw in some vintage black velvet heels and a peach braided velvet headband i had made just 30 minutes before taking pictures, and i had cute retro look that turned out to be exactly my style.







peach braided velvet headband - diyneue pinakothek dress - courtesy of sugarlips apparelpetticoat - gift from my mother black velvet heels - vintage

vivir la vintage vida

This is what I wore to the Huge Frocking Sale! at Frock You! Vintage Boutique in San Diego, CA.  I've only been to this shop once before, which isn't surprising because I rarely shop at vintage boutiques, but once I stepped foot into Frock You! I was immediately smitten.  They offer a great selection of vintage clothing and accessories, all of which are seriously cream of the crop items, all neatly arranged in an adorable shop in one of my favorite SD neighborhoods (North Park).

I, for the most part, find my vintage clothing at thrift stores primarily because I enjoy the thrill of the hunt and those bargain prices that you can only find if you're willing to dig through tons of undesirables.  However, once in a while this thrifty gal likes to treat herself to the luxury of perusing through a large selection of crème de la crème vintage clothing.  Boutiques are like candy stores for vintage lovers.  And for a vintage obsessed chocolate fiend like me, boutiques are quickly becoming a bit of a bad habit of mine.  Parce que, pour la créme de la créme, tu dois dépenser beaucoup d'argent (hah, forgive my French, I am a mediocre student of languages, ergo the awful Spanglish entitling this post).

Luckily, there are awesome vintage boutiques like Frock You!, that hold awesome sales that fuse the bargain prices of thrifting with the premium selection found at boutiques.  So what you get is a bunch of awesome vintage clothing and accessories, most of which are under $20 bucks.  Pretty good deal when some vintage shops and online vendors will sell a 50s party dress for around $90-$300 bucks (but I have seen them cost even MORE).

Under these conditions I just knew that when I attended day 2 of the 3 day sale, I was bound to find something just for me.  Who would have thought that I would end up finding a knockout of a dress that was exactly what I have been looking for these past couple of months.  I know, sounds strange to be looking for things that are basically one of a kind.  But I had an idea of something I wanted, a 1950s light blue lace and chiffon party dress.  Ahah! Super specific I know, but I have an imagination that knows no bounds.  And would you believe it?  I ended up finding a dress matching that exact description.  It was crazy!  It needs a little work though, as there was a bit of tearing on the ruched waist, and the zipper needs to be replaced.  Once the dress gets some tlc I'll wear it, and you can bet you'll see it on this blog. 




  hah don't you hate it when your heels sink into the ground?

1950s light blue blouse - vintage (La Bomba, Long Beach)
hawaiian floral shorts - vintage (Flashbacks, San Diego)
black velvet heels - vintage (Salvation Army)

By the way, the blouse and shorts were both found at vintage boutiques that are worth checking out, for the selection and for what I believe is fair pricing.

blue collar baby

So my top is actually mint colored but the title of the post is a reference to the working class. I recently started a job that involves some desk work, a far cry from what I normally do. For those of you that do not know, which is probably everyone, I mostly work in film and video production. Strange thing is I didn't have to change the way I dressed as I started doing more white collar work, because I pretty much dress the same way when I do production work. Yes, I wander around carrying cameras and/or set lights wearing vintage outfits, including dresses. It has never interfered with my efficiency and so I figured, might as well. Except I do believe I should invest in some bloomers as I find myself more often than not, in flasher prone situations. But today I figured I'd try to put together an ensemble that is more manual labor friendly, though still vintage inspired. I'm psyched on the look and plan on collecting more pieces like these in various colors so that soon I'll have my very own work wardrobe.








gray twist scarf - target
mint collar button up - vintage
burnt sienna pants - vintage
blue espadrilles - vintage