Seasaw

I'm in dire need of more separates.  Don't get me wrong, I adore gorgeous dresses, but in the end it's a complete outfit.  Sure you can accessorize and layer cardigans and sweaters to switch it up, but eventually the dress will get old, and have to retire from the world of blogging, and can only return when enough time has passed so that it's new again.  And I love that feeling.  Someone very close to me once said that I should shop in my closet because I have so much stuff, I end up rediscovering things that I've lost and/or forgot about.  And he was right.  I look in my closet and find things, and it's like "whoa I forgot about this, how cute, have I even worn this?" haha.

But I need to return to what I was originally blabbing about; I need separates.  I was never good at math but I do remember vaguely in statistics we were trying to figure out how many possible combinations we can get if we have a certain number of one thing and another number of another thing.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry, like I said, I was awful at math.

Anyway!  If you like clothes like I do, mixing and matching to create more outfits out of less things sounds like a grand idea.

The notion that I "love" clothes sounds very materialistic of me.  But I don't think that statement is as accurate as it could be.  A more concise statement would be: "I love how clothes help me maintain a healthy level of self esteem."  When I wear a particularly pretty outfit, I feel confident and happy with myself.  I find myself staring at myself in the mirror admiring my ensemble.  When you are happy with how you look, it in turn can feel like a suit of armor.  No matter what happens, I am happy with the me I am presenting to the world right now.  And if they don't like it, they don't have to look at me, I don't want people with mal attitudes to look at me anyway.  Also, as I consider myself a creative person, I think that my sense of style is another outlet for self expression.  I like to look different, stand out, you know, be someone that easy to spot in a crowd.  It reminds me that I'm special, which is difficult to remember when there are so many people in the world.

Hmm...

aqua twist scarf - american apparel 

pastel plaid shirt - urbanoutfitters 

denim pants - pin up BOO-tique 

black velvet heels - thrifted vintage

Okay so before I spin off into an existential crisis I'll talk about my outfit.  I've had that super thin plaid top since I first discovered Urban Outfitters during my first year of college.  I was going through my plaid grunge phase, and was a bit of a tomboy.  I was in college, I was trying to rebel against something I assume.  I guess rebelling against the fact that I have and will continue looking like a little Asian girl for god knows how long.  tangent warning!...Kirsten Dunst in Interview with a Vampire knows how I feel...  This outfit is particularly awesome since I'm wearing pants!  I never wear pants because I tend to feel free-er with skirts and dresses.  So free, I tend to accidentally flash people my undies every so often.  But these pants are amazing.  There is a good deal of stretch, a nice denim look, and an adorable contrast red stitch and zipper.  And they are so comfortable!  I got them at this fairly new pin up/rockabilly clothing store in Ontario Mills, an outlet mall that can be found in the Inland Empire.  It's like a retail oasis in the desert.  But the crowds, sheesh, if you suffer from claustrophobia, run the other way.  If you can stand the drive, the middle of no where, and the insane amount of people, a visit to the store is worth it for any pin up or rockabilly Betty.  The store is called Pin up BOO-tique.  They carry a good variety of pin up brands, like Bettie Page Clothing, Stop Staring!, and Hell Bunny.  And if you are into retro clothing, you know that these reproductions cost a pretty penny.  This is where the fact that it's an outlet is a bit of a godsend.  If you're in the area I say go look, but unless you intend to stock up on clothes, the savings won't be worth the drive if you don't live a reasonable distance away from it.

Okay, I love these pants, and hey it's a "separate."  :)

- Minxy

the return of the minx

Hello Loves!

After a long absence full of heartbreak, chaos, adventure and self discovery, I have found myself navigating a pivotal point in my life, fully equipped with a new outlook, home, boyfriend, and a whole bunch of new clothes and accessories that are just dying to be gushed about (minus the boyfriend gushing because I rather bombard you with rambling tangents, cute clothes, and DIY projects).  I've kept myself busy working, moving, and sewing cute clothing and accessories, and boy there are some adorable things in store.  And this time it'll be better, because I'm happier, healthier, and have finally learned to appreciate myself.  Now let's have some fun!  So be sure and come back and visit soon because it's safe to say that I'm back and expect to have a new post up in the near future ;)

xoxo

Minxy

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

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.

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

50s pencil skirt, mint condition

Today I woke up feeling particularly low and resigned myself to the idea that I would just stay in bed for the rest of the day.  But then, right as I was about to pull my covers over my head to coax myself into another few hours of restless sleep, a good friend of mine text me.  Immediately I remembered that New Years Eve was tomorrow and knew that I needed to pick myself up and get moving if I wanted to be well enough to ring in the new year right.  So I subjected myself to tough love, forced myself to get up, get dressed, and went out for some fresh air and food.  Speaking of fresh, I thought it would be nice to break in my mint 1950s pencil skirt that I thrifted earlier this week.  I adore how pencil skirts cinch my waist, hug my hips, and most importantly, make my butt look good (haha, I'm half kidding).  It makes perfect sense that these skirts were popular in the 1950s when an impressive woman was a trophy wife; pretty, seen but not heard.  You could say that pencil skirts were created to merely demean women further, making them more of a display for men to gawk at, but I'm pretty sure that half of the time women purposely wield some sort of power with the manner in which they dress (Marilyn Monroe, Joan Holloway, etc).  And yes part of that power is based in sexuality, but the other is rooted in confidence.  Women were probably driven half crazy having to be so submissive, therefore it seems only natural that they would start wearing skirts that screamed loud and clear that they were women.  "I AM A WOMAN, LOOK AT MY HIPS!  If I don't feel like hiding it behind yards and yards of fabric, underneath petticoats and full skirts, then I won't.  I'm shaped like this for a reason, and if you can't handle that image, then GTFO."  Ahah, of course that's just my exaggerated and belligerent interpretation of what women were thinking, but who knows I could be fairly accurate :P



 

 

 

cream floral chiffon headband - forever 21
nude polka dot blouse - thrifted
mint 1950s pencil skirt - vintage (thrifted)
nude peep toes - vintage (thrifted)

librarian libertarian

librarian libertarian is my self proclaimed political disposition.  i'd get into the details of what that entails but i'm not entirely sure myself, and if i start to develop the ideology now we'd never get to talking about the outfit, which is likely the main reason you are here.  anyway, i managed to pull my still ill self together for a hot second to take a brief outing to a book store to get another novel to keep me company as i continue to rest.  i ended up dressing up in this preppy peach outfit and thought i looked like a librarian from the waist up, but a liberated one from the waist down; see summery espadrilles.


 



 

 

peach plaid peter pan collared blouse - vintage
peach cardigan - vintage
gray leggings - forever 21
navy espadrilles - vintage

etsy shop: for the retro minxy

now open! For the Retro Minxy

swingin gingham

cherry baby

hot mama

stop staring!

I'm sure that all of you retro loving minxes have already heard of Stop Staring!, one of the fashion industry leaders in creating original retro/vintage inspired clothing. Sexy but always classy, Stop Staring! creates stunning pieces that flatter all body types, and has wearers exuding infinite amounts of confidence and elegance.

I myself have had a curvier physique for most of my post-pubescent life, and clothing that molded to my tiny waist but ample hips was something that was hard to come by. And I'm sure that if I came across Stop Staring! sooner, my former hourglass body would have been strutting around in their hip hugging, waist cinching clothing a long time ago.

About two weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Stop Staring! sample sale at the Stop Staring! showroom in Paramount, CA. I had made up my mind that this would be the year that I would finally get myself a Stop Staring! dress after years of admiring their line of clothing. However, I was hesitant about going because as a person constantly struggling with severe bouts of anxiety, I had lost a substantial amount of weight over the course of four months, and I no longer had my familiar curvy physique that I was genuinely proud of. This new petite body had me terribly insecure and I was afraid that a trip to Stop Staring! would confirm my new found fear; that I had lost my feminine shape. But with the encouragement of my mother I went anyway, and I am so glad I did.

I expected the sale to be a stressful frenzy of women, like black friday, minus the testosterone and with 50 extra shots of estrogen. I imagined pushing, snatching, dirty looks, and caddy remarks (a nightmare for someone with severe anxiety). Instead what I got was one of the most pleasant shopping experiences of my life. Everyone was super friendly, an occasional bump into another customer was accompanied with mutual apologies and smiles. The staff on hand were extremely helpful and sweet, making sure that everyone left with something that made them look and feel amazing. It seemed that everyone, customers and staff alike were just happy to be there, and I think that's part of the euphoria of uniting a pretty dress with a pretty women.

The dresses. I tried on about 15, which sounds crazy for someone like me who hates stepping foot into a dressing room, but it's true. And pretty much every dress I stepped into looked great on me. I felt like crying. I was so worried that with my new body I would look like a 13 year old boy in anything I tried on, but boy were those anxieties far from reality. Those dresses hugged my tiny waist, accentuated what was left of my curves, and molded itself to my newly petite, but not any less feminine body. And when I walked out of my dressing room to show my mother what I was wearing, I was not a bit shy, and many of the other lovely customers complimented me on how cute some of the dresses were on me. I even saw other women much curvier than I wearing the same things but the dresses looked just as amazing on their body type too. I was in awe. These dresses look good on ANY body. No kidding. Needless to say I left with two Stop Staring! dresses instead of one, and at the up to 50% off price tag it wasn't too big of a financial blow. But with how well these dresses fit, and how beautiful they make you feel, it's like an investment in self esteem, and feeling that good about yourself is worth every penny.

See you at the next Stop Staring! Sample Sale ;)


 
 
 
romance dress in pink - stop staring!
nude peep toes - vintage (thrifted)

menswear and teddy girl flare.

When I'm feeling down I tend to dress like a boy. During one of my more lengthy cross-dressing rebellions I wore plaid shirts under grandpa sweaters, and basically paraded around looking like Mr.Rogers every day for a good 3 months (don't get me wrong, I've got nothing but love for that good-natured, king of sweaters/cardigans/knitted goods).  And of course my tendency to keep my hair quite short doesn't really help anyone identify my sex when I have these reoccurring flirtations with androgyny.  But I don't care, for me, the way I dress is a form of expression.  The way I feel always manages to manifest into my outfit and styling choices, and I'm sure half the time I'm not aware of it.  You could even say that when menswear finds its way into being featured predominately in my wardrobe, it's just me once again trying to reject whatever it is that is bothering me that comes along with being a young woman.  Of course it doesn't change anything, I'll be a woman no matter how I dress, but in a more masculine outfit I feel a little less vulnerable, a little less approachable, and a little less like a sitting duck.  Not that I feel like that when I dress more feminine, no not at all.  It's just when I especially feel that way, it's nice to put on an outfit that makes me feel a little less so.  And in the end the way you dress should make you feel good right?  Because I'm sure that if we were perfectly happy with the way our bodies looked without being decked out in material goods, we'd just walk around naked.






head scarf - vintage (thrifted)
rose boyfriend blazer - urbanoutfitters (super sale)
tweed trousers - urbanoutfitters (super sale)
brown oxfords - forever21