Shortie

I took the plunge today, although it didn't really feel like much of a plunge. I've been thinking about cutting my hair short again for months now and this afternoon I walked into my hairdresser's with a few pictures of Jean Seberg from Breathless in hand, ready to commit. I love my stylist. She's enthusiastic and honest and friendly. She was so excited for me. Its wonderful to find someone who you trust implicitly with your hair.

The last time I got it cut, I went to someone else at the same salon with a similar request. The woman was really nice, but she basically tried to convince me not to do it and said she was afraid I might really regret it and cry (for some reason, they always think I'm going to cry:). While I appreciated her candor, I found myself in the odd position of explaining to her that, yes, I had cut my hair that short before and that ultimately it's just hair and will eventually grow back. It was rather humorous.

Today was a completely different story. I can't wait to play around with it and see what I can do.











(Mena wanted in on the photo action today)

Blouse: Thrifted
Shorts: Anthropologie Sale
Sunglasses: Vintage Store
Earrings: Forever 21
Handbag: Thrifted
Shoes: Target
Ring: Gift

And I also bought a new pair of purple wedge platform sandals on sale today! Luckily I just happened to be passing by my favorite shoe store and decided to pop in on a whim. They're made by Born, which is quickly turning into one of my preferred shoe brands, especially for heels. As the salesgirl said, they're just so comfortable.

For years, I wouldn't dare wear platforms or heels over three inches. I'm almost six feet tall anyway, so I thought I'd just stick out even more. And I was convinced that I'm such a clutz that I'd constantly be tripping and falling. But the other day, when I said something about my lack of coordination to a friend, he looked at me for a minute and then told me he thinks I don't give myself enough credit. I've decided that I think he's right. I can handle walking in these shoes.

Its funny how the stories that stick with us from our childhoods sometimes shape who we think we are. I grew really, really fast in elementary school (an entire foot in one year!) and ended up feeling really awkward while adjusting to my new body. Ever since, I've always thought of myself as an inelegant, clumsy person who tends to physically stick out. But maybe I've just been seeing it all wrong and taking lots of things about myself for granted.

Oh, and if you get a chance, I started a new blog for my art called Dreams By Kelley. Stop by if you get a chance!

Shoes! Shoes! Glorious Shoes!*

Over the past two years, I've come to love shoes...especially vintage-inspired ones. I say that because, sadly for my vintage-loving self, I have big feet for a girl. When I say that, people invariably respond that I'm tall, they're proportional to my body, etc. and so on and so forth. I know that (and am comforted by the fact that Audrey Hepburn also sported size 10's and was still gamine and incredibly, unbelievably lovely) and over time have grown into and come to terms with my long, narrow feet.

Except when I go thrift shopping. For some reason, 8 1/2 seems to be the magic number in the places I visit. I very rarely find cool vintage shoes that fit me, so I usually haunt the Anthropologie super sales section (I'm -- probably futilely -- hoping that these will come down to a price within my range) and search out great vintage knock-offs.

That being said, when I do find vintage shoes that fit I always feel like I've hit the jackpot...kind of like the first time I went on a really successful thrifting expedition. I was sick in bed today, and don't think anybody wants to see photos of my over-sized pajamas, so I thought that I would share my small vintage shoe collection with all of you.

So without further delay...

(Most are thrifted, but the white perforated oxfords and tan cowboy boots I found on Etsy.)

I can't wait to break out those tan boots with short floral dresses and my shrunken leather jacket...or the blue and white spectators with shorts or skirts...or the sherbet rainbow Hushpuppies with just about anything. The gold heels are a little more tricky for me, but I'll figure something out eventually. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

And I'm also very excited to write that I just purchased the Born lovelies pictured below on Zappos this afternoon. They're not vintage, but they are incredibly adorable and I'm sure comfortable...and they've gone down in price since first appearing on the website. I guess there is something to be said for having big feet after all...the smaller sizes were gone by the time I decided to order them.


Does anyone else have an absolute favorite pair of vintage or thrifted shoes? If so, I'd love to hear about them.

*( P.S. If anyone caught the That 70's Show reference, well...its nice to share a little giggle with you.)

The Technicolor Rainbow

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but over the past few weeks I've come to the decision that I'm going to make a conscientious effort to incorporate more of my accessories into my daily wardrobe. I guess this is one of my less weighty resolutions for the new year. I'm such a sucker for colorful brooches, hats, belts, scarves and purses and regularly pick them up in vintage and thrift stores. After reading a post on wearing color in a winter wardrobe over at Mamushka Marie, I decided to really go for it today and use some pieces that I haven't worn much recently. I played with the scarf throughout the day and moved it around quite a bit, but here's what I came up with...

Purse: Thrifted, Urban Renewals
Dress: Vintage, Buffalo Exchange
Scarf: Vintage, Church Thrift Store
Belt: Vintage, Church Thrift Sale
Earrings: Thrifted, Savers
Brooch: Thrifted, Savers
Shoes: Blowfish
Tights: Target
Shirt: Target

Oh and although I still haven't gotten to West Side Story, I did go to a matinee of La Dolce Vita with a friend today. We both found it visually and intellectually interesting and I'm glad to have finally seen it, but we also thought that it was draining. I'm not sure what we expected:) Has anyone else seen it? If so, I'd like to hear what you thought.

Oh My Cat Eye!

For years, I've been pining for a pair of cat eye prescription glasses. I've never worn contacts and have always really liked the way I look wearing my specs in addition to relishing the opportunities I've had to pick out a new pair. But for years, I was also way too painfully self conscious and worried about looking odd to even try on a retro-inspired pair. Then, the last time I visited the optometrist, he asked me what I had in mind. After getting up the gumption to ask after cat eyes, he informed me (to my displeasure) that they wouldn't suit me and I needed to be a bit more punk to pull it off. Well, obviously he didn't realize that my style purposefully hearkens back to that of my various great aunts. Silly man.

Despite my doctor's advice, I've kept my eyes peeled for the perfect vintage or retro style glasses. Well, today one of my co-workers brought Fabulous Fanny's to my attention and I couldn't be happier about it. As they say on the site "If you have to wear them, make it fun..."

Here are some of my favorites; honestly, I wish I could buy every pair!







...and my favorite pair of all. Despite all of my courage, I don't know if I would be able to pull off these blue butterfly stunners, but it would definitely be worth a try!



Its wonderful, you can browse sunglasses, vintage women's and men's eye wear, antiques and even order custom pairs. I definitely know where I'm going the next time I need new glasses.

Memorial Day Party Dress

For me, every outfit starts with a general idea, a feeling that I want to express, an idea that I'd like to emulate or an accessory that I really want to wear and build a look around. Today, I needed to wear my new yellow peep toe sandals from Anthropologie. I found them this past Wednesday in the sales section for fifty percent off! Since it was warm, bright and breezy outside, and our roommates were having a BBQ, I decided to pair them with a pretty white frock from Cafe Society and dress it up a little with a golden thrifted necklace and my cat-eye sunglasses. Finally, my beaded and embroidered leather bag from Anthropolgie finished off the look and (I think) pulled it all together:)

It was such a lovely day out...perfect for a deliciously girly frock and some equally exciting accessories. 

(sorry the pics are small, you can click to enlarge any of them) 

Just for kicks, I decided to take  a group shot with my husband and roommate who were down in the backyard reading when I took my photos before the party. Nick, our friend is on the left posing, while my husband Dan is on the right, looking at us like we're insane. And there I am in the middle...mugging for the camera:)

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Converse-Girly Style

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about my escalating shoe lust.  One of the pairs I featured was a set of blue Converse. Although I've never really thought of myself as sporty or really cool I have at times succumbed to the allure of the cool tennis shoe. First it was Addidas in my teens (they made my feet look like boats...no seriously, one of my first boyfriend's roommates casually referred to me as big foot all the time). Then it was the coveted Converse Sneakers and finally a few years ago, Diesel asparagus green sneakers with purple laces (I still wear these occasionally). 

Getting back to the Converse though, I was thinking about the old black and white chucks this morning and how its hard to know how to wear them when one has big feet. They do, well, accentuate length. I've been laid up with a strained back all week and decided this morning that I was not going to spend another day in my oversized sweat pants and thrifted Major League Soccer t-shirt, but I couldn't really wear heels unless I wanted to exacerbate the pain. So I turned to my old chucks that had been pushed to the back of my closet. There they sat, dusty and sad looking. Then it dawned on me - why not just spruce them up? Make them look a little girly with some ribbon to replace the laces! Here's what I came up with. Thank goodness for my mother's old sewing kit. It often comes in handy in ways such as this:)

Next I just need some really thick ribbon...you know, a floppier look with big luscious bows...ahhh. One of my first trips, when its not painful to sit in the car for longer stretches anymore, is going to be Joanne's fabric:) Oh! and my sister e-mailed me to say that she's buying the blue Converse for me for my birthday...so I'm glad I'm getting a jump on figuring out how to incorporate them now. Now every time I wear either pair, I'll think of her and smile. 

Dress: Vintage (altered by me)

Belt: Thrifted

Tights: American Apparel

Converse Sneakers (with ribbon ties!)

Head Band: American Apparel

Library Cardigan: Anthropologie (sales rack:)

More photos at www.chictopia.com/kelleyanne

The Little Things

I've been meaning for a while to write a post about the little things that mean so much to me. They're physical possessions, so I suppose its materialistic, but people associate memories and meanings with things...they provoke memories and are symbols of emotion, so we can't necessarily differentiate the meaning-making from the things: I think they're inextricably linked. I had a professor in graduate school who scoffed at people who fetishized historical objects...for a while I thought he was right. Now I'm not so sure. All I know is that when I attempt to understand how we construct memory and meaning- and how we constantly craft our own identities out of those essential elements, I have a hard time devaluing the objects to which we attribute significance. (Sorry, I've been reading all about meaning and memory for my oral history class!)

Anyway, all of this brings me down a convoluted path to my sister and how much I miss her. Over Christmas, we went to one of our favorite vintage shops (one of the few vintage shops where we're from) and she bought me two lovely brooches as my yearly present. She's been adding to my brooch collection for a while (three of them are pictured below). Some of the most beautiful pins in my jewelry box came from her. When I wear them, they remind me of her and how much I appreciate having at least one person in my life who I know understands me, one person who I can wander around in thrift stores and Forever 21 with for hours, one person (besides my husband) who will laugh at my jokes, listen to me, let me cry when I need to, and who knows just what I'd love to wear. She thinks she's not fashionable, but its not true. She's smart and beautiful and wonderful and has killer taste in shoes. 

My other Christmas gift was this little change purse made out of kimono cloth. I've been too afraid of carrying it around with me every day (things have  a tendency to get lost in my bag and quickly get beaten up) so I keep it propped on my dressing table and think of her whenever I see it. 

It makes me sad that I can't see her more often...we live many states apart and probably always will, but these things remind me of her. They remind me to e-mail her, to message her on facebook and to call (even though neither of us likes talking on the phone). Luckily though, I painted a portrait of her (pre haircut) that hangs on my wall and reminds me of my lovely sister. This only affirms my belief that although these things don't have inherent, essential meaning, they carry the significance that  I've attached to them and because of that they hold a special place in my life. I like to think that the things that I wear all have stories, some that were others, some that are mine (this is why I adore hand me downs, why I love thrift and vintage stores) - but all of them make me feel at home in my wardrobe and home. I miss you sweetie.