Before the Rains Came

So, I'm not actually wearing this dress today:

Vintage RK Originals dress, Gap boots & Kate Spade New York earrings

Nor did I wear it yesterday as is usually the case.  No, I wore this before the rains came.  Over the weekend, Oregon remembered that it's Oregon and it has a responsibility to rain steadily from the first day of autumn through the last day of spring.  It's off to a great start.

But, enough about the weather.  Let's talk about the dress.  I think it's from the 60s and I think it's fabulous.

My favorite part is the studded trim:

Seriously, aren't those just the most ladylike little studs you've ever seen?

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Short and Fruity

It's true.  This dress is short.  And fruity.  But, I love it so:

I got the dress from the Albany Antique Mall (they have a pretty great vintage clothing section) the weekend before last and immediately fell in love with the print.  Yes, it is shorter than I would usually wear without some volume to offset the shortness, but it is a great print and the high neck is fun.  Oh, and it looks fabulous with my Lynne Pin:

And I think it will also look fabulous with tights and a turtleneck in the winter; that way I won't have to worry so much about the length.  Or lack there of.  As it was, I drove in to work today to insure I didn't flash any of the middle school students I ride past every morning. 

In addition to the pin (gifted from Lynne because she is the best ever), I also added a thin belt (Macy's) and pointed toe boots (Luxury Rebel via Piperlime) to the look:

I think the boots somehow served to both modernize the look and recall the dress' sixties origins at the same time.  Which was totally my intention, as far as you know.

Happy Wednesday, All!

Gracey

Bonus Footage: Gracey Goes to the Opera

Last Saturday, I went to see Don Giovanni at the Portland Opera with my best group of girl friends, Alex, Jodi and Erica.  We went to dinner at Gracie's and dessert at The Driftwood Room, both in the Hotel DeLuxe, before the show, and it was delicious.  After we ate, we had to rush across town (I like to linger over my champagne cocktails) to the show, but we made it and saw a fabulously modern rendition of Don Giovanni.  It was my first opera and I'm hooked; I'll definitely be going back.

For my inaugural opera, I wore this:

I found this dress for under $10 at my now-defunct local Salvation Army.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I'd found my opera dress.  I paired my opera dress (vintage, tag says Styled by Linda Jane), with fishnets (Target), a vintage fur (also $10, at a garage sale), Franco Sarto pumps (via Nordstrom) and a vintage clutch and jewelry.

The earrings are vintage, via Ray's Ragtime, the bracelet is vintage, via Red Fox Vintage, I can't remember where the ring is from and the clutch is also vintage, also Salvation Army.

Alex also wore vintage:

She borrowed my vintage pleated dress, vintage clutch (thrifted) and belt (Target).  She is also wearing leopard heels (thrifted), opera-length bejeweled gloves (Lil' Gypsy vintage), her mother's prom fur (so cute!) and her grandmother's vintage jewelry.

This weekend, I'm (sadly) not doing anything so fancy.  I'm heading up to a football game at Portland State, looking for a button for my new vintage coat and going to the Chart House.  Even though I did go to school at PSU, I don't think I'm going to root for them.  Instead I'm going to root for myself to stay warm and dry.  Go Gracey!

Happy Saturday, All!

Gracey

Straight Outta Boca

Straight Outta Boca is both where these pants look like they came from and the name of the octogenarian rock band I�m going to start when I get older.  However, the rock band is the future and the pants are now, so let�s talk about the pants:

They�re double knit plaid, they only cost me a quarter and I�m pretty sure they are vintage, men�s golf pants, albeit for a not very tall man.  I can totally see them on the golf course in Boca Raton in the 60s.  Pete Campbell would wear these pants.   

The funny thing is that I wouldn�t say that man-shaped in any way, but I�ll be darned if these man pants don�t fit me better than any other crops I�ve ever had.  I mean, they�re a little big in the waist, but they don�t make my hips or thighs stabby.  And they go well with my coral sweater (Target) and leopard wedges (Tahari via DSW).  Man pants, people; they�re awesome.

In fact?  Today�s Takeaway?  When in doubt, man pants.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey

WeeCap: Mad Men

My friend Alex and I are huge Mad Men fans; as much for clothes as for the wonderful acting, writing and that sexy misogynist, Don Draper.  So, when we heard that the theme for this year�s annual Salem Art Association Clay Ball was Mad Men, we knew we had to go.  And we knew we had to go all out.

Unfortunately, I didn�t have anything appropriately 60s in my closet, so I had to go shopping.  Luckily I was able to find this dress at an antique mall in Albany:

I realize in looking at these pictures that it�s a little too big for me, which I didn�t notice before because too big vintage is not often an issue I run into.  I�ll probably have to take it in before I wear it again.

Fit aside, I knew I had to get this dress as soon as I saw the fabulous sleeves � I love that they�re unattached and sequined.  Not that the sequins were enough; oh, no, I had to add some rhinestones too:

I embellished my hair with two clip-on rhinestone earrings, wore the rhinestone earrings and a bracelet and added a rhinestone pin to my clutch.

Unlike me, Alex had the foresight to buy a gorgeous 60s gown a couple years ago:

Isn�t it amazing? She also accessorized with rhinestones and added long white gloves and major lashes.

And then we were off to the party.  And, you guys?  It was so much fun.  The first couple of hours were the silent auction, drinks and hors d�oeuvres.  And a photo booth:

Erich McVey Photography was there with a very cool wall of old advertisements from the late 50s and early 60s.  If you want to see more pictures from the event, go to http://www.hautebooth.com/ and you can see a bunch of the other party goers.

After the silent auction we had dinner and the live auction � it was the first I�d ever attended, and it was fabulous.  Really, the whole night was fabulous.  Except that my feet hurt the next day.

It doesn�t help that I was out dancing Friday night too but by Sunday, the dogs were barking.  Luckily, I had some of these to wear around the next day:

They�re Kushyfoot Flats-to-Go and they�re wonderful.  They fit easily into my purse and they really are cushy.  When I received them from the fine folks at Kushyfoot, I was a little worried because the size is 9/10 and in my experience, things that have two size on them never fit the larger size listed.  But, I was wrong; these wonderfully comfortable flats really do fit my monstrous size 10 feet easily.

My pair is black embossed crocodile, but these fabulous flats also come in bronze alligator, zebra, polka dot, snake, perforated cream, black patent and silver.  And they're only $9.99 per pair in drug stores everywhere.  Or, of course, you can get some at kushyfoot.com.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

Gracey