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Wardrobe Wednesday: Fur & Lace

This winter, it's seems that all I want to wear is lace and fur. And sweaters. Big sweaters and sweater tights. I think I could last until Spring.

But I just can't decide how I truly feel about fur... Obviously I love it, or I wouldn't be wearing it so much lately. And I only buy vintage fur... I wouldn't support a business involved in poaching animals and whatnot... but still. I don't eat animals. But I wear them. Ahhhh! I just don't know. I sound like I'm trying too hard to justify wearing fur. What do you think?

To fur, or not to fur. That is the question. Indeed.

On a side note, I've been putting my hair in big rollers again. It seems the past two years I've transformed into a low maintenance just let my hair dry by itself kinda girl. I'd like to stay that way (as long as I don't end up with the sniffles this winter), but I'm really digging the 1960s full bodied look.

Outfit Details:

Dress: Vintage (Etsy)

Sweater: Vintage (thrifted Canton, OH)

Fur: Vintage (Hidden Pearl, CUyahoga Falls, OH)

Tights: Love Colour Love Tights (UK)

Shoes: Vintage (thrifted)

Wardrobe Wednesday: All in the Family

My mom gave me a box of clothes that she used to wear when I was a little girl. I found this lovely wool plaid skirt amongst the glorious collection of 80s ensembles and shortened it a bit. It sort of made her day when we I showed up at her house wearing her old skirt!

The top is actually a dress. It's way too breezy to be wearing in the wintertime, so this is my solution. I was a little worried that the outfit would look too librarian, so I paired it with these zip up booties and some leather gloves. I think it balanced out in the end.

By the way... I took off my black wool coat for these photos, and it was fa-reeeezing! Silly me. I must find somewhere indoors to take outfit shots.

 

Outfit details:

blouse/dress: vintage

cardigan: UO 08

skirt: vintage (from my mother's closet- it came with a belt)

tights: UO 09

shoes: UO 09

gloves: Kohls 08

purse: vintage (thrifted 08)

Wardrobe Wednesday- Blue Plaid

What kind of girl would wear a mini dress in the (almost) wintertime? Okay... I know I wear some silly things, but in my defense, it was unseasonably warm, and I didn't even need a winter coat on Monday! A girl simply must take advantage of these moments in December. They are few and far between.

This is my vintage '70's Pendleton blazer (thrifted, of course). It's my compromise for the boyfriend jacket. I'm still not quite sure curvy girls can pull off that look. I need all of the structure I can get, lest I look like a blob. To girlify it, I paired it with a mini dress with a bit of a full skirt, ruched gloves, and victorian boots.

When wearing these sort of boots, I always match them to the color of my tights. It lengthens the look of my legs.  This particular pair has a 2 inch heel, which is also a nice boost for the legs.

This necklace is one of my favorite handmade buys on Etsy. It's from the White Owl shop. You simply must check out their selection. I love their creative reuse of vintage and delicate materials! I thought this particular one was a nice mix of edgy and sweet.

So, I'm enjoying the charm of these mild (almost) winter days. Next week will probably involve heavy coats and fur collars once again.

Wardrobe Wednesday- Vintage Perfection

Once in a lifetime, a girl can experience the joy of walking into a shop, finding a lovely vintage dress, and discovering that it fits her absolutely perfectly. Every curve, every shape. It was made for her. Well, last month, I was that girl. And this is that dress.

It's the perfect winter dress. It's made of wool and lined in pretty purple satin. And just check out that pretty bow! Even the zipper was in good shape. I did find two small moth holes (in the front) and a couple of stains, which helped me talk the shop lady down to twenty-six dollars.  And because she was so kind to lower the price, I decided to buy this little deco deer brooch from the shop as well.  They make quite a pair, the dress and the deer.

Now, the problem with 1950s wiggle dresses is that they can look a little costumey if you're not careful. I didn't want it to appear as though I was trying to be Joan from Mad Men.  So, I decided to forego the Mary Jane heels, red lipstick, and up-do.  I think the slouchy boots make it much more of a modern girl about town outfit, yeah?

The vintage ruched gloves and patent handbag are the exceptions to the modern girl rule.  Every girl must have exceptions, I think.

Outfit details:

dress: Secret Past (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)

shoes: Urban Outfitters

tights: Victoria's Secret

gloves & brooch: Secret Past (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio)

purse: Salvation Army (Canton, Ohio)

Wardrobe Wednesday- The verdict is...?

Well, today's the big day. My last day of finals. I haven't much to say about this outfit, only I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it...  Check out the summer version here. Now I'm off to pick up donuts for my class!

 

Outfit details:
jumper: Forever21
blouse: Thrifted (Canton, OH)
belt: Tahari
tights: Forever21 & Victoria's Secret
shoes: Etsy
purse: thrifted
gloves: vintage (Cuyahoga Falls, OH)
umbrella: ebay

Wardrobe Wednesday- Garters

Just when I thought I didn't have any new outfits to put together, I had an epiphany.  Sort of like that double scarf epiphany. So yeah.  This bouse is actually a dress.  A rather short dress.  But I've been wearing it so much lately, that I thought I'd better mix it up a bit.  Enter skirt (from the back of my closet), floral tights, knee socks, and a fur collar.

 

Okay, then came the garters.  Is there anything sexier than garters?  I mean, really.  (I sort of feel naughty when I wear these! ha!)  They're actually a necessity for this outfit (knee high socks and all...), but in truth? I sort of wanted an excuse to wear them.

Well, after the garter belt addition, I though I had better class it up a bit with the dainty necklace.  Nothing classier than a big fake diamond, eh?  Well, I like it.  I'm a fan of simple mounts, like the tiffany mount of my engagement ring.  So, I'm still not sure if I pulled it off.  The garter belt and granny shoe extravaganza.  Clothes are just too much fun to take seriously!  (Oh, and, uh... beware of wearing garters in public, unless you don't mind the stares...)

Outfit details:

Blouse/dress: Urban Outfitters 09

Skirt: Victoria's Secret 07

Floral tights: Love Colour Love Tights

Thigh high socks: Urban Outfitters 08

Granny shoes: Etsy vintage

Fur collar: Etsy vintage

Wardrobe Wednesday- Yellow plaid

This one should be called, remake of a summer classic. I loved this skirt to death last summer, and have stared rather sadly at it each day I choose my attire. But last week, I thought... "Hey, silly!  This skirt is totally a fall skirt.  Look at that orange!" I guess what's yellow in the summer, is orange in the fall.

And speaking of orange, looking at that photo from summer reminds me how much my hair has faded back to its natural auburn. I used to dye it dark brown and go tanning a lot when I was in high school. So, the past five years have been spent growing out of these unhealthy habits. But the hair dye is something I still sometimes get those longings to do...

Outfit details:

Blouse: thrifted in Canton

Sweater: BCBG

Skirt: Etsy

Hat: Thrifted in Akron

Purse: Thrfited in Canton

Tights: Urban Outfitters

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Brooch: Etsy

Bow brooch... bow blouse...  I kind of like bows.

On a side note, did you know that when you stand underneath those big power line monster looking things, you can hear really scary buzzing?  I sort of thought I might turn around to see my clone standing there staring back at me...

Wardrobe Wednesday- Double scarves

Nothing beats the warmth of a cozy scarf on a chilly day.  But really, I'm not much of an accessorize-with-scarves kinda girl.  I bought this ruffled yellow and brown striped scarf at Lenny & Me in Chicago (one of my favorite vintage clothing shops) last year, but it looked so wimpy and sad each time I attempted to work it into an outfit.  So I haven't worn it since.  Then, it dawned on me.  Pair it with another scarf!  So I did.  And here we have it.  Layered scarves.

I found this early 90s floral denim shift dress at The Salvation Army last week.  I put a yellow belt on, only because I wanted my scarf to make more sense.  But to be honest, after I took these pictures, I decided I liked the dress better without a belt cinching it.  Sometimes baggy and comfy is just the way to go. (I guess I kind of preach that a lot here, don't I?)

I live a block away from a park called Dogwood Park, and there are so many lovely trees to shield you from the neighborhood beyond.  Not that my neighborhood isn't cute.  It's a lovely little 1920s bungalow, 4-square house, and gambrel Dutch Colonial kind of neighborhood right next to the historic Hoover Company.  But the park is so lovely for photos.

Phil has been taking most of my wardrobe pictures lately.  I know a lot of you ask if I use a tripod.  The answer is, sometimes yes.  Last week's photos were taken with my tripod.  But usually the park pictures are taken by Phil.  He has gotten quite good with the camera!  Although, usually I take a photo first, show him the screen, and say "Take it like this, only put me there..." and point to where I will be standing.  He's a good study.  And it saves me a lot of time running to a fro while the self timer ticks away impatiently.

Just a little reminder, if you haven't commented on Tiffany's ring giveaway, be sure to do so!  It's a lovely giveaway, and I will be randomly choosing a winner this evening.

Wardrobe Wednesday- Red & Gray

I remember after fashion week last Spring, everyone was freaking out about the return of shoulder pads.  And I'm quite aware 99% of America is not ready for it.  I'm still deciding whether or not I fit into that leftover 1%....  But in the meantime, I'm still really enjoying puffed sleeves.

Puffed sleeves and circle skirts are the prettiest silhouettes of all, in my opinion.  They're kind of like shutters and fireplaces.  A modern girl doesn't really need them, it's simply the romanticism that draws us to them.  I think it harkens back to my days of Disney princess loving and Anne of Green Gables watching (which, by the way, those days are not over...). 

This circle skirt was a diy.  I found a long ankle length denim skirt such as could be seen on a 90s schoolmarm back in the day.  Then I took it home, chopped it off, and hemmed the bottom.  Now it's one of my favorites in my closet.  The jacket is part of a vintage two piece sweater set which will soon make its way into Half Caf. 

This blouse is one of my favorites from the shop.  It's been there a while, so I thought I'd take it out for a spin.  I love the buttons and the yoke neckline is adorable.  I'm kinda bummed that you can't see it in this photo, but you can check it out in the shop here.

Before I sign off, I wanted to remind everyone to leave a comment, if you haven't, on Diana's giveaway I hosted last Friday.  I'm picking a winner this evening!

Wardrobe Wednesday- Fur & Lace

I can hardly believe how beautiful the world looks each time I step outside. I want to take hundreds of photos of every tree I see, and then keep them in a box until winter when It's miserably cold and barren. The last week has been beautifully chilly, but warm enough to keep the layers down to the minimum.

I bought this lace dress from Etsy last Spring and wore it bare legged with my hair in a pony tail. I actually haven't worn it since, but definitely had it in mind when I purchased this faux fur collar from Etsy two weeks ago. I think they make quite the happy couple. I found the bag at an antique store last week when I was searching for pieces for my Halloween costume. I think I could hide a ball of yarn and knitting needles in it should I decide to learn a new hobby this season.

I've been enjoying sweater tights and putting off wearing boots. Soon enough I'll need the warmth of boots to make wearing dresses possible. And actually, lately I've been wearing dresses almost every day. I just don't feel pretty unless I have a dress on... which is a sad situation for my cute blouses. (Must invest in some new skirts soon!)

These shoes were another Etsy purchase I made last season. It's always slightly terrifying buying vintage shoes online, as the sizes marked sometimes run small, but not always.  It's quite a gamble, but I've been pretty luck so far.

So, now that I've manage to ramble for an entire post, I am wondering... what is your go-to-source for cute skirts?  I think a purchase is in my near future...