Night Photos

First Day of School

Blouse: Vintage from Cafe Society

Skirt: Thrifted

Library Cardigan: Anthropologie (sales rack)

Bracelet: borrowed from my Mom

Tights: American Apparel

Boots: Stonefly

My first day of classes was yesterday and for this very special occasion, I broke out one of my favorite vintage blouses and paired it with one of the three high-waisted skirts that I bought when thrifting last weekend. When one feels confident that she looks good, one is more likely to feel confident about herself.  Between the clothes and the gorgeous freshwater pearl bracelet that my Mom let me borrow, I felt pretty great yesterday.

Lately

So I haven't written in a few weeks...I'm not sure if anyone but my sister (thanks Kate:) and Elisa have read my blog yet, but I really can't blame people for I've hardly written anything! My husband and I went to Washington for the inauguration last week and I'm starting school again tomorrow, so (in my own defense) I have been quite busy planning and travelling. For the newest installment in my educational adventures, I will be studying to become a librarian. I'm actually quite nervous, although very excited at the same time. I'm taking a course on oral history and will be planning and executing a project of my own. I have ideas brewing my my head for the topic and can't wait to get to that class tomorrow to find out more about what I'll be doing. 

I've always loved school, but also put so many expectations upon myself that make me almost fear it at the same time. This time I'm promising myself that with the experience of two (yes, I do hope this one sticks:) successfully completed master's degrees behind me I will enjoy learning new things without being neurotic about it. Older, wiser...and most important, happier. 

In other news, I just recieved my first Etsy purchase in the mail today...a lovely vintage up-cycled bag from Lune Vintage! Speaking of shopping, I also hit up one of my favorite thrift stores in Rhode Island last weekend and came home with three high-waisted skirts and a fantastic '70s polyester dress. (In my experience, thrifting is such a dream in New England compared to Florida-there are just so many more places to frequent.) And better yet I also just bought a nicer camera with some Christmas money, so more pictures will be coming soon! The batteries are charging as I write. 

Scarves, Lovely Scarves

Since before I started visiting thrift stores in college, I've always harbored a love for scarves. My mother used to buy them for me to tie my hair back and in the past few years, my collection has grown exponentially due, largely in part, to some summer fairs that I always attend. I now probably own close to fifty scarves and don't know where to house them, much less how to successfully incorporate them into my everyday wardrobe.

Working in a library has its advantages, and recently I came across a book called Edward Steichen In High Fashion: The Conde Nast Years 1923-1937. Besides the fact that its full of beautiful black and white fashion photographs, and showcases delicious vintage looks, the book is great because quite a few of the photos illustrate different options for wearing scarves (besides just pulling one's hair back.) These are some of my favorites!

Besides the scarves, the looks are fabulous in their entirety. I usually tend towards belts that cynch the waist. I'm tall and without one, I just look like a very long column. But I love the look in several of these: a low-slung belt paired with a long scarf and a blazer or sweater (very season-friendly).

Today was more of a jeans and sweater kind of day for me though, so I'll test it out in the next few days.

(Oh, and by the way, the last photo doesn't really include a scarf, but I just loved it and thought that a skinny scarf or a dress sash tied around the kneck would re-create the same look:)

All photos from Edward Steichen In High Fashion: The Conde Nast Years 1923-1937 by Todd Brandow and William A. Ewing (2008)

Feeling Hazy, Feeling Beautiful

A Cure for Cold Winter Days: The Perfect Stripedy Dress, of course!

When I woke up this morning, I had a hankering to wear a summer dress of mine that I just mended. It can sometimes be problematic when this happens...first, because its the middle of winter. Second, I live in New England. Florida girl that I am, I don't really understand the concept of seasonal wardrobes. When I told my husband, a Rhode Islander, that I have a trans-seasonal closet (in all sincerity mind you), he looked at me like I was crazy. So this morning I woke up to temperatures in the 20's and snow left over from Saturday's storm, but I just needed to find a way to wear that dress.

What I've found since moving away from a tropical climate is this: if you have a good pair of boots, a decent selection of sweaters, mittens, tights, and a (well, at least one) thick (yet stylish) coat, you'll be fine. So as I was saying before, I wanted to wear my little cotton stripedy dress and found that my maxim still works. I love the process of getting dressed in the morning. Stepping into my tightly packed closet, choosing the colors, style and lines, shoes and brooch that make my life feel a little more magical, a little more fantastic, despite the snow and freezing rain, and lift me up above the moments when I want to cry because I can't feel my toes, the sidewalk is flooded and the bus is running 2o minutes late. Maybe I watched too much Turner Classic Movies (Rudolph Valentino was my first crush, followed by '60s, boy-band Beatles George Harrison) with my mom when I was a kid, maybe I equated the world of grown-ups with the fantasy of fabulous clothing, bold technicolor and costume jewelry; all I know is that sometimes a little color can make all the difference in the world and the right dress can make you feel fantastic..come to think of it, a dab of red lipstick never hurt either:)

Dress: Thrifted

Boots: Stonefly

Tights & Headband: American Apparel

Library Cardigan: Anthropologie (sales rack!)

Brooch: Thrifted

And Off I go...

Inspired by the fashion, vintage, poetry and all-encompassing blogs that I've begun to read over the past few months, I've decided to start my own. I have to admit, I'm both  excited and a little nervous about publishing a blog for the first time.  Over the winter holiday, I had an interesting conversation (among many) with my brother that gave me the little nudge that I needed to actually go through with this. We were discussing the technology on the web that has enabled people to seek out and create new media and to find communities that defy physical difference and enable communication with a mass audience through personal, self-published creation. His interests are more political, scientific, musical and design-based, while mine tend to lean towards vintage, historical, literature and random musings in general. Despite the difference, his passion about the subject (as usual) inspired me to take part in this online community and contribute my own ideas, photos, illustrations, etc.

I'm not sure if this blog will have a specific focus or unifying idea, or if it really needs one.  After overcoming my own shyness, I feel exhilarated  at the prospect of sharing ideas and testing them on like-minded people (something I miss from grad school), and the possibility of inspiring others the way in which some of the blogs I've found have inspired me. 

So thanks to John! Without knowing it, you've once again spurred me on to action and expanded my horizons with your passionate conviction. And thanks to my husband whose unerring belief in me gives me the confidence to try new things every day. So if anyone ends up reading this, I hope they enjoy it as much as I'll relish creating it. And off I go...