Ciao...for now

photo credit

I'm off tomorrow for home and won't be back until Sunday. Hopefully I'll take some good pictures though and try not to succumb to the heat (my father said that it was 102 degrees today where they live!) I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week! I look forward to writing more when I get back:) 

Finds

Here are some of my new finds from the past month or two. When the spring semester ended, I promised myself that I would do quite a lot of things...one of them was to seek out more thrift and vintage stores to see what might be hidden amongst the racks. So once a week I go out hunting...and here's what I've found. Only three of these garments came from vintage stores, all the rest are from various thrift stores in the area.

This light-weight 60's coat was hidden amongst ladies sleepwear at a poorly-organized Goodwill. I love the buttons and collar, the way it falls and the pattern and feel really lucky that it fits so well.

There are a few dresses below below that I'm trying to decide if I'll re-hem or not. The red Laura Ashley is one of them, along with the sheer black polyester dress with the bows on either side of the waist.

I liked the cream dress above the moment I laid eyes on it (Mena seems to be fond of it too:), but all of the details that make it so special didn't show up in the photo that I took. So here are some closeups of the embroidery on the sleeves. I can't decide if I want to take up the hem or not...but there's always time for that.

And here is another of my Barbara Stanwyck-inspired dresses.

Style Inspiration: Barbara Stanwyck

I just can't get enough of old movies lately, especially ones from the 40's and 50's. One of the most recent that Dan and I viewed was Ball of Fire with Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper (sigh:) Its a 1940's take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, she being Stanwyck as Sugarpuss O'Shea the night club singer, them being a team of academics deeply engaged in the writing of an encyclopedia. After their paths cross, a slew of slang, singing, dancing lexicographers, and hijinks ensue. Written in part by Billy Wilder and directed by Howard Hawks, its funny, touching, and entertaining (in many senses of the word). All I can say is that I really liked it a lot. 

Anyway, I've been a fan of Stanwyck since seeing her in the pre-Hayes Code films Night Nurse and Baby Face. She's amazing as the fast talking, saucy and independent girl who came up from nowhere (I think that's actually a line from Ball of Fire:) 

While we were watching this last movie, I couldn't get enough of her costumes. The fancy number for her scene in the night-club was fantastic in a sexy, sparkly kind of way, but what I loved so much were the dresses that she wore through the majority of the film. Mostly long-sleeved, a-line ones with a lot of detail on top, cinched waists, and swingy, knee-length skirts. Every time she appeared onscreen wearing something new, I couldn't help but blurt out...I love her dress! (My husband is used to this by now and fortunately finds it cute:) This first one below is my favorite. I love the sequined frawns or leaves that wrap around her torso and the ruching (is that the right word?) of the fabric around the bust. 

This next one just reminds me of sooooo many of the dresses in my closet. Seemingly simple, but with great shape and movement...and usually paired with a belt.

So, naturally, when I was in a thrift store last week and saw this dress, I thought of Barbara Stanwyck and had to get it. I sincerely wish that it had the details of the first palm frawn/leaf dress, but the draping of the fabric around the bust was enough to sell me. I also love the shoulders. I've bought a slew of black dresses recently (more on this in another post), but this one just made me think instantly of her. I really like pairing it with the red leather belt...adding a bit of color to the outfit. Any garment that can make me feel remotely like her is always stylish in my book!

Oh! And thanks for the advice on comfortable black mary janes! These are my new ones...I ended up going with Clarks again because I've had such good luck with their heels recently. They're very comfortable and just the right heel height for me. 

Dress: Thrifted

Belt: Thrifted

Shoes: Clarks

Pearl Earrings

....and a rainy Sunday

(Please click on any of the pictures if you wish to enlarge them:)

Denim Skirt: Thrifted 

Blouse: Thrifted

Belt: Thrifted

Random Black Flats

Bracelet: American Eagle

The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife: Give Away! Give Away!

The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife: Give Away! Give Away!

This sounds like a great give away if anyone is interested:)

Lazy Days by the Lake

My husband's great-aunt owns a cottage on an island about two hours away from where we live. In the summers everyone in the family goes up there for weekends...lazy, lake-side weekends full of swimming (although the water was too cold this past one), watching movies, napping on the porch, mini-golf and crepes on the main land and long walks with our pup Sophie. No vintage on Saturday, but I did feel pretty excited about sporting my "I Heart History" t-shirt from a presidential museum for the first time.

Blueberry Pie Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Blueberry Pie Refashioned Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

A Blue Floral for a Blue Day

Today has been so dreary! Its been threatening to rain, humid and chilly...which sounds all together odd for a Florida girl...I thought muggy went with hot exclusively:) So I was lazy and spent the day indoors, watching a French movie about Marcel Proust and Synecdoche, New York and then reading some more of Why Didn't They Ask Evans? an Agatha Christie novel (have I mentioned yet how much I love her books?) I have to say, the latter film didn't help to lift my spirits at all...watching an aging Philip Seymour Hoffman cry repeatedly was not just what the doctor ordered today. I think I should probably give it another try some other time.

So with the hours in the day waning, I decided to take a stab at night photography in the back yard. These aren't the best pics; I'm a little out of practice and seriously need to break out the remote control for my camera. I took a photography class two years ago in which I actually learned how to use my film camera's manual functions, but have forgotten a lot of it. I'll have to read up in the manual and my books this weekend and practice...we're heading out of town after work tomorrow and will be gone until Sunday night. I'll post more when we get back!

Dress: Blue Floral 70's Vintage

Shoes: Clarks

Earrings: Gift

Necklace: Gift