Beyond Stripes and Polka Dots

Do any of you remember Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus books and, later, the cartoon?  She was the awesome, eccentric, and enthusiastic elementary school teacher fond of taking her students on EPIC field trips.  (Outer space, anyone?  Inside the human body?  Travelling back in time to learn about dinosaurs?)  Educational and entertaining...and a sartorial inspiration.  Ms. Frizzle always coordinated her ensemble to the field trip destination or topic.  The patterns on her dresses and her accessories always related to the subject du jour.  Take the field trip to space: Jupiter earrings?  A shirtwaist dress featuring stars and planets?   Solar system headband with dangling planets?  You just know the field trip will literally be out of this world:

Off to space.  Obviously.

When it comes to wearing patterns in my own wardrobe, I'm partial to the classics: polka dots, stripes, plaids, and, as you know, florals.  But lately I've been drawn to more offbeat patterns and wishing I had somewhere cooler than the suburbs of Maryland to wear them.  And, I wonder where Ms. Frizzle might have worn them:

This vintage skirt was thrifted over a decade ago and it's in my personal collection.  It has giant waves all around the hem and a volcano in the background.  The print reminds me of the famous Japanese woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai:

Ms. Frizzle might have worn this skirt to take her class on a trip to Japan.  In these tough times, and lacking a Magic School Bus of my own, the best I can manage is taking a metro ride down to the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries of Asian Art, which in fact has some of Hokusai's other artwork.  Plus, it's free and it's air-conditioned.  Winning...with style.  I'd top it off with a plain tee and my easy-to-walk-in cork platforms for an afternoon of cultural appreciation:

Konichiwa, bitches!

Here's another from my personal collection.  I got this one off eBay last year.  It's covered with falling chairs!  I'm not sure if there's a Ms. Frizzle-worthy field trip to this, but I imagine she also coordinates her patterns to her weekend plans.  Maybe she's going to the upholsterer to decide on some crazy fabric swatches for her sofa.  I could wear it to Ikea!  (Although these don't look like the kind of chairs you assembled yourself from a million pieces that came from a little cardboard box and I don't think I'd willingly venture to an Ikea on a weekend...)

 And since we can't go more than a post or two without highlighting Liz Claiborne, check out that vintage belt:

This one's going to be in the shop.  The duck pattern would be perfect for taking the class on a simple nature walk by the lake!  (Tough times, remember?)  This skirt would be cute for a picnic, too!  But not if it's 100 degrees outside.  My thematic indoor activities would be watching a Duck Dynasty marathon on TV...or going old school and playing Duck Hunt on Nintendo!

Duck duck goose.

This next dress is so playful and fun.  It's silk and it's from Bill Blass.  If it didn't have polka dots (some of them topped with sequins!) and painterly sunglasses and sunhats it'd be just another serious-looking eighties shift dress:

The sleeve length still feels a little frumpy to me so I've been disguising that under different layers:

I imagine this is what a younger Ms. Frizzle might have worn out shopping and if she did wear it on a field trip, the Magic School Bus might have been headed to Fashion Week!  This dress is staying in my collection for now but I have another accessory-patterned item headed to the shop:

This top is also made of silk and also covered with accessories.  There's a bit more variety with bags and boots and belts and scarves.  It's another one Ms. Frizzle could wear out shopping.  It reminds me of all those different Nicole Miller patterns from the early nineties.  I bet Ms. Frizzle was a fan.  You have to dig to find the random assortment of them on eBay and here are two of my favorites from an etsy seller that has a good stash of them in her shop, Hooked On Honey:

Left/Right

Perfect tops for dinner and a movie, no?  The snacks remind me of another shirt with a random food pattern that I sold at the beginning of this year.  It had different types of pasta all over it.  So random but so cool and I loved the contrasting trim.  Ms. Frizzle and class go to an Italian restaurant and make their own noodles!

Love you, pasta shirt.  Miss you.

Lastly, I've got another recent find headed to the shop.  This is the cutest, most perfect/adorable/cool sundress for the beach.  Naturally, it features seashells.  Ms. Frizzle might take the class to the seaside to learn about crustaceans and I'd wear it while eating them (crab cake sandwich, please!) at the best seafood restaurant on the boardwalk:

The neon-ish color scheme is everything.  And it feels new and unworn!  And it's not your typical teeny-tiny vintage size!  Triple win!  It'll be in the shop soon!  I'm going to make like the toaster on another random vintage pattern (technically, a screensaver) and fly:

Memories...

 Get it? 'Fly'? Because they're flying toasters? I'm totally the Carlos character of Ms. Frizzle's class...

Flower Power! Part One!

I love a good floral print.  Not so much the cutesy ditsy florals, but colorful and graphic high-contrast patterns against dark backgrounds have always been a favorite.  This spring, I've picked (HAHA! Get it?) some excellent ones for the shop:

Some of the styles above have already sold (and in the future I'll blog about new arrivals while they're still...new arrivals) but I'll be adding more over the next few days.  The shirt minidress (second row, far right) is still available AND it's from Liz Claiborne AND it reminds me of something Janeane Garofalo's character might have worn in Reality Bites:

(Also note Winona's floral maxi.)

In a later nineties movie reference, this fitted rosebud dress (that I juuuust listed!) channels Bianca Stratford's in 10 Things I Hate About You:

And here it is again worn with a cardigan over it! (Also known as: I need to incorporate this gif into my post.)

Oh, snap!

This gardenia(?) dress is also available in the shop.  I was captivated by the pattern.  The fit is flattering and flow-y as it is, and, if you're inclined to reworking dresses, you could get an entirely different look just by creating a hi-lo fishtail hemline and subtracting the sleeves:

I have a few go-to dresses in my closet and they happen to be covered in flowers.  Golly, floral prints sure are versatile!

This ruffle-hem dress, shown with a cropped tee over it (80s workout wear courtesy of my mom...) appeals to my punk-lite teenager self.  A decade (and a half) ago I might have added round sunglasses and a beret but these days I play down the edginess of the dress with a cardigan.

This romantic number (hello, red roses!) has a bit of a 40s vibe with it's strong shoulder and no frills silhouette.  It's a modest and girlie option for date night with ankle-strap high heel sandals and a contrasting belt.

This is my latest favorite in the floral dress department.  The fit is really flattering and I love the criss-crossing (RIP Chris Kelly) strap detail at the back.  It's an fun strap design but it's a situation that requires a specific brassiere.  I've gotten around that by wearing it underneath my army jacket, last seen here.  When I look at it on my dressform, I'm not so sure I like the proportions the jacket creates...next time I'll try it with a shorter, fitted denim jacket...or a denim vest!  I do like how I accessorized the dress so here's a close-up of those details:

The Aesa pendant necklace is a favorite I got from Totokaelo a couple of years ago.  As a cheapskate, it was a bit of a splurge even at the sale price but since I wear it almost everyday, the cost per a wear is literally pennies. (#fashionistalogic!)  The gold-tone leaf choker was an eBay score, also acquired a few years ago.  The pin belongs to my dad, but it's been on loan for awhile.  The square buckle belt was thrifted and I haven't found a dress it doesn't look good with. 

There are quite a few skirts in this floral collection.  Some favorites:

This one sold a couple weeks ago.  I love the teal/purple/green on navy color scheme and I'm partial to how I styled it.  Stripes (and polka dots!) are the neutrals of patterns, they go with everything and look great with floral prints:

Exhibit A: Pattern on Pattern.

The skirt below was for sale.  And it didn't sell since I decided to hang on to it a little longer.  I showed it with a white tee and denim jacket (far left) but offline I actually styled it as shown on the right.

   

Acquiring things for the shop and then reneging on it happens entirely too often, but  the next few skirts are for sale in the shop...if only because they don't fit me.

There's that Liz top, again!

I'm really tempted to keep this skirt, too.  Unfortunately the color doesn't really flatter me.  I have this weird thing about brown people wearing brown and people wearing flesh tones in general.  But look at that sweet pindot and those blue roses!

Here are not one, but TWO awesome, floral-printed takes on a white denim mini skirt.  I love the coordinating daisy zipper pull of the one on the left (from Esprit) and I don't mind the pastel purple and gray rose pattern happening on the right one.  I feel like both of these could have been taken from Kelly Kapowski's closet.  (Because this blog post hasn't reached it's quota for nineties references.  What can I say?  I'm a nineties bitch.) 

Tune in next time for part two of the florals post: flowers on shoes and blazers and housewares, oh my!

Black and/or White and/or Leather and/or reminds me of a Michael Jackson song

Lots of black and white patterns happening in the etsy shop right now: 

I live in my black and white polka dot scarf because it works with everything.  EVERYTHING.  Black and white patterns are easy because you can accessorize them with any color...and, more obviously, just pair them with solid black or white.  I usually like to add another color into the mix, like red.  Um, can we get a close up of that red leather jacket?

This red leather jacket was a great find.  I love the color and the snaps down the front and the zippers and the fit...it's fantastic.  I know I'm biased, but really.  It's red and it's leather and it's fantastic.  (Insert second Michael Jackson reference here.)  It was originally part of a skirt suit.  How cool was the lady who originally wore this red leather jacket (and skirt)?  Answer: Too cool.  Leather jackets make everything cooler and I love a cool leather jacket.  

A few years ago I thrifted this black leather jacket and I love the way it makes me feel.  It's collarless and really minimal without a lot of detailing like big zippers or pockets and it fits me perfectly.  I see a lot of leather jackets and coats in thrift stores but they're usually of the weirdly-cut and over-sized bomber variety or some kind of trench coat and blazer hybrid.  (Pssst!  And if you are still looking for that perfect leather jacket, spring is a good time to hit up those smaller thrift stores that don't discard/pack away their out of season stuff because it's priced to sell quickly and not take up precious space on the salesfloor!)  

Leather skirts are another item I always come across in thrift stores and I've amassed quite the collection of them in unusual colors and flattering fits.  Leather skirts are a great base layer for the rest of your outfit and have such a great texture/tactile feel that really adds dimension.  And, they can be styled to look luxurious or tough or bohemian or professional and can be worn throughout the year.  Just add a cool t-shirt and you're done.  

In the spirit of spring cleaning, and you know, trying to whittle down my closet to things I actually wear and/or can't live without, I'm selling some of my leather (and suede!) skirts.  While I don't follow a one-in-one-out rule when it comes to purchasing clothes, I added two new leather skirts to my personal collection.  They may seem like completely unnecessary additions, but I really love them:

    

I thrifted this dark green leather pencil skirt and it's the perfect color...it looks so luxurious!  I liked the way By Malene Birger had styled a darker green leather pencil skirt with bright green top from Summer 2012.  (Yep, summer.  I said leather skirts are year around...)  Above, I show mine with a striped thermal (and that diy pocket knife necklace I already talked about) but for spring I'm going to try it out with a brighter top.  (This look shows almost the reverse color scheme with a bright green skirt and a dark blazer and I love how it somehow works together.)

I came across the leather skirt above from Phoenix Vintage Design on etsy when I was searching for leather skirts comparable to this one:

Now obviously, they're not the same.  They're both leather and both black and they both have an asymmetrical zipper detail on the front but they're not the same...so it was a completely justifiable purchase.  The one I was selling didn't quite fit me decently and the one I bought sits higher on the waist and has the pocket and zipper detail on the front...completely justifiable.  One in, and one out!

Maybe you've realized I use (and wear!) that green army jacket a lot when styling looks for the shop; as seen above...in 3 different places.  I got it a few (?) years ago and it's from the Reformation.  It's like that black and white polka dot scarf in that I wear it with EVERYTHING.  It's great for layering.  It softens the look of leather.  And it toughens up a lace chemise:

And.  AND I was playing dress up and discovered a whole new way to wear it!  Underneath a vintage sequined vest!  Is this a do or a don't?  Pretty sure I'm going to be doing it...  

And, one more shot of the jacket in action, this time over a sequined and beaded dress.  Over or under something sparkly...it just can't be beat... 

Black and gold fit and flare dress and blue velvet bag are still for sale.  Speaking of black and gold and beaded...  This is the back detail of an awesome jacket (part of a 3-piece outfit) available in the shop.  The tank top has the sunshine and clocks/roman numerals and the waistband of the pants is beaded and the back has the huge beaded sunface patch shown below.

I know this post started with black and white, and I'm going to end it on a black and gold note because I've also been seeing and loving that color combination lately:

Okay, so the belt above is black and gold (it's the Mimi di N one I mentioned earlier) and the dress is black and white and tan.  The dress also happens to be vintage Liz Claiborne, and further proves my point that vintage Liz Claiborne pieces are treasures.  This is my go-to dress when I don't know what to wear...it's been to a wedding, a funeral, a dinner party and a few other random places since I've acquired it.  Compliments galore every time...  

Both of these black pieces would just be boring basics without the gold studs.  The eighties dress is fitted and so comfortable and the skirt is another really versatile piece.  And I almost overlooked the necklace: black and gold heart-shaped scorpion necklace (because I'm a Scorpio, just like Ad-Rock...)

To tie-in another Beastie Boys reference, the top picture features an idiom bangle from Kate Spade: I'd been eyeing it for a little over a year, freaked out when it sold out online, and immediately purchased it when it randomly reappeared.  The outside says 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' and the inside reads 'Turn the Tables'.  The black and gold handbag is vintage and reptile-embossed and so small and cute.  

I got the gold sneaker wedges on sale from Anthropologie and love wearing them with black skinny jeans.  The black beaded, silver sequined, and (rose) gold embroidered khussas were a souvenir from...London, of all places: this was before they were everywhere in the US (2004-ish?) and I thought they were so unique when I saw them at a street market.  They came in a million colors but this was my favorite color scheme (of course) although they're a little small...and/or just really uncomfortable.  The lady at the stall assured me they would stretch a bit and conform to my feet (hence why I labeled them 'left' and 'right') but I think they're too pretty/precious to wear and otherwise come into any contact with the ground so I have them propped up on a picture frame... 

There's going to be a lot of 'gold' (more accurately, gold-tone) coming to the shop soon: I'll be adding some fun vintage pendant necklaces later this week!

Until the next blog post, stay gold reader(s), stay gold!   

Holidayz Collection Highlightzzzz

It's been a crazy productive month for the Vintage Adoption Agency!  Cray-cray CRAAAAY-ZAY!  I want to keep this momentum going into the new year...because I love it!  And I hope you're loving it, too!  As promised in the last post, I updated the etsy shop with a ton of bags and now the Holidayz Collection is up, too.  Unintentionally, it features a lot of the color red...and I love it!  That color is everywhere, and for good reason.  It looks amazing.  Here are three of the fancier dresses from the collection:

Painting the town red, anyone?

The dress on the left is one of the pieces that I've reworked.  As explained in the description, it came with these *awful* *ridiculous* sleeves and they've since been removed.  Now the dress is looking a million times more sophisticated.  I can imagine an Old Hollywood star wearing this...with sparkly jewelry and opera gloves and either a long velvet cape or a mink fur on her shoulders.  The sequins on the body are soo pretty; they're a really shiny, opaque red that I've never come across (and I've seen many, many sequins...):

Oooooh. Pretty...

There are a couple of other reworked pieces in the Holidayz Collection that I'm quite pleased with: a red and gold skirt made of the most A-mazing material, a metallic purple skirt, and a really cute little dress that has a neck sash that can be tied into a bow.

A-mazing, right? No exaggeration.

And now, the rest of the skirts from this collection in all their horribly-edited glory!

Well, you get the idea.

I had a lot of fun styling these looks.  I tend to wear vintage pieces in a more casual way, so my instincts were to dress-down the fancier skirts with an army jacket or over-sized shirt.  Obviously, they'd look great with a nice silk blouse or a button-down shirt but I  hate when things start to look too precious and I didn't want to show you, savvy reader, anything too obvious.

(Speaking of obvious, or just an observation on Christmas party ensembles: why is it that the kindest people wear their 'ugly' Christmas sweaters with sincerity and (a good majority of) the people wearing them for 'ironic purposes' are probably on Santa's shit list?  Is there an inverse relationship between good taste and good manners?  Dedicated to all the grandmas, elementary school teachers, generous uncles and unusually friendly cashiers at the grocery stores rocking their Christmas-themed sweaters, sweatshirts, and musical socks with pride this holiday season...  I support you.)

While I don't have anything overtly Christmas-y in my outfit rotation for the festivities, I like the idea of giving a subtle nod to the holiday by strategically pairing the colors for my outfits...something not-necessarily-Christmas-y in red with something else not-necessarily-Christmas-y in green, et voilà: a subtle Christmas-y look!  Here are four skirt looks from the Holidayz collection that prove the formula: they work year around (or at least all winter) and can go in a more seasonal, Christmas-y direction with the right accessories:

Red + Green = Festive.

Looking at the picture of all the skirt outfits also reminds me: shoes will be coming to the shop soon...and I still have to add the belts!  That belt with the silver bow buckle is a personal favorite and it will be for sale in the shop.  It got a lot of mileage when I was styling this collection.  It's made by Mimi Di N and from the eighties.  

Mimi Di N Vintage Silver Bow Belt Buckle and Black Patent Belt

This designer and princess (yep, for reals!) had some really quirky belt buckles in the 70s and 80s: seashells, leaves, elephants, koi fish...  It looks like many of the designs are available through the 'official' website but you can get a better deal on eBay or etsy.  I'm always excited when I come across them for really cheap in thrift stores. (Seriously, if you're an avid thrifter, eventually you will come across one and it will be your lucky day because they seem to never get marked up/priced too much higher than whatever the other belts are selling for.)  

My all-time favorite belt buckle is by this brand and the belt part (and some other random bits of lace and ribbon and other notions) had been bundled into a plastic bag for about $1.50...I figured the leaves were some kind of old door ornament/brass decoration and planned to use it in a mixed media project.  I was VERY pleasantly surprised when I realized it was a belt buckle...and the tan strip was the attaching belt!

Does the Thrift Store Score Dance #407 

Weirdly, but as seems to happen in the universe, shortly after I scored my first Mimi Di N belt, I came across this one, also with leaves:

Collecting them all, apparently.

Another fun belt in the collection is this gold-tone one with a cool nautical-looking crest on it:

So preppy and nautical...

Which I show styled over one of my latest (non-vintage) purchases from Madewell and under a beaded jacket from the collection:

Clearly, I'm loving this color-scheme right now...

So the rest of the belts and shoes will be added shortly...in the mean time, have you seen all the time I've been wasting fun I've been having with all the vintage-y, Old Hollywood-y, Christmas-y, cutesy, street-style-y and fashion-y imagery on tumblr?  A (belated) Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!