Sewing Savant and Possible Psychic

I love this dress:

Love the print, love the fit, love it. 

I mean, look at this thing.  It�s amazing:

It's perfect for swishing about, dramatic walks down spiral staircases, Mama Mia! viewings and casual summer parties.  I'd just add a white blazer for cool nights and I'd be set.  You can see it with a blazer at Everything Just So where the lovely Jill has included my pic with other party pics.

The best thing about this dress though?  It's handmade.  I�m always yelling about how much I love handmade vintage and this dress is a prime example why; it looks like it was made for me.  It wasn�t, of course, unless� Unless my 70s toddler-self sewed it for my future-self, at which point I should probably go on the next season of Project Runway because I�m clearly a sewing savant and possibly psychic!  

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Lucky Lamb

This outfit was directly inspired by an outfit that I saw in Lucky Magazine a couple of months ago.  And by a trick of Catherine�s at Not Dressed as Lamb:

A couple of months ago, Lucky suggested pairing a super-full skirt with a turtleneck layered under a printed shirt.  I knew immediately that I wanted to try to recreate the look but didn�t have a suitable skirt.  And then, a couple of weeks later, I found this skirt so I thought I�d give it a whirl:

And I love how it turned out.  In spite of it�s awkward length, this skirt has become one of my favorites to wear and today�s outfit is no exception.  I paired the skirt (Ralph Lauren via Goodwill) with a burgundy turtleneck (Gap) layered under a houndstooth shirt (vintage via Vintage by the Pound).  I also added a tie belt (DIY with belts from St. Vincent de Paul), tights (Hue via Nordstrom Rack), booties (Nine West Darsy) and a neon necklace (Target).

Although I do love the skirt, I was a bit iffy about the shirt.  It�s vintage and therefore has an appropriately crazy collar.  Which is where Catherine�s trick comes in; in this post here, she pins the collar of a shirt into a stand-up collar.  I did something similar with today�s shirt.  My collar wasn�t robust enough to pin behind my neck, so I folded the collar inside the shirt and used a stick pin to keep in place, creating a sort of mandarin collar:

And I think it worked.

So, thank you, Lucky.  And thank you, Catherine.  Also, a special thanks to my friend, Jeanne from I Dream of...{by Jeanne}.  She was with me when I bought this shirt and swore I could rock it.  Best enabler ever.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Lord Jeff�s Cousin, Chet

In November, I wore a vintage cardigan made by �Lord Jeff� (you can see it here).  Well, I�m pretty sure this cardigan was made by Lord Jeff�s cousin, Chet:

Excuse me, I mean LordChet.  My understanding is that Lord Jeff and Lord Chet were minor royals/playboy cousins during the 70s.  They spent a lot of time in Ibiza, of course, but also in Switzerland.  It was their time in Switzerland that encouraged them to create their own lines of apr�s ski wear.  Like this sweater:

In the spirit of the 70s, when they wore the heck out of some turtlenecks (and also because I love turtlenecks,) I layered the sweater (vintage via Vintage by the Pound) over a black turtleneck (Hinge via Nordstrom).  I also wore a pleated skirt (Goodwill), tights (Spanx via Nordstrom) and my new rain boots (Merona �Zajac� via Target).  I feel like Lord Chet would totally approve of this look.

You know who else would approve?  Starsky.  Little known fact: Starsky, of Starsky and Hutch, was dressed almost exclusively in sweaters by Lord Jeff and Lord Chet.  From what I�ve heard, their cousin Penny was the costume designer for the show so they had an in.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Shop the Look:

I couldn't find my exact cardigan anywhere, but there are a lot on eBay and Etsy vendor hellhoundvintage, has a great selection.

Spanx Tight End tights

Similar skirt

Similar turtleneck

Merona Zajac Rain Boots (I think you can find them in the store for 1/2 off)

** Disclosure: Actions taken from the hyperlinks in this blog post may yield commission/compensation for the writer. Please see the Disclosure tab for more details.

Drama! Polka Dots! 70s! Coats! Dresses!

I didn�t do a lot of thrifting this weekend, but the little bit I did do was fabulous.  I found two skirts for my sister and two coats for myself.  This is one of the coats:

Isn�t it adorable?!  I love the polka dots (of course) and the crazy, dramatic collar.  Not only is the coat (Mycra Pac via Goodwill) spotted and dramatic, it is also water-resistant, wrinkle-resistant and reversible!  And, you can find it here, but, be warned, it costs considerably more than the $12.99 I paid at Goodwill.

In addition to my new coat, I also wore this dress (vintage Coco of California, thrifted):

It�s sooooo 70s, I couldn�t resist pairing it with my also-very-70s Eye of Sauron belt (thrifted, Goodwill).  But, I did also add tights (SPANX via Nordstrom) and booties (Luxury Rebel �Yuma� via Piperlime) to try to modernize the look a bit.  Because I do wear a lot of vintage clothes I try to be careful not to look like an extra in a period piece and I usually do that with my shoes.  It�s hard to resist the urge to go full 70s though; if I�d had the right pair of heeled boots, I think I would have worn them.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Do you try to modernize your vintage or do you go full Foxy Brown?

Happy Monday, Everyone!

Gracey

Stripes and Mia-Approved Pockets

My dress today has stripes and what I believe would be Mia-approved pockets:

This pose is soooo smarmy; it makes me laugh.

Blogger friend Mia wrote that she used to use pocket size as criteria for buying clothes.  If the pockets were big enough to hold a book, it was meant to be hers.  I�m pretty sure my pockets today are big enough to hold a book.  Maybe not a trade paperback, but a couple of Harlequin Romances for sure.

Not that I�d ever put books in these pockets.  When I my hips found out I was even just writing about it, they started preparing Molotov cocktails.  They like to make it very, very clear that they won�t accept any added bulk in their region; they�d secede before they let that happen.  And, of course, my thighs are always up for a revolution so they lent my hips some matches.

Even if I don�t use the pockets for books, I still think this is a pretty great dress.  It�s been on the blog a couple of times before, but not at all this summer.  So, I figured I�d get in a post while it was still summer.  The dress is vintage Raoul (thrifted) and I paired it with an embroidered belt (Target) and platform sandals (Franco Sarto via Nordstrom Rack).  If yesterday�s outfit was a bit 80s, today�s feels a bit 70s to me; like I�m applying for the position of art teacher at that aggressively feminist all-girls summer camp I �worked� at earlier this summer.  I love that imaginary camp.  

And I love this dress.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey