Favorite Etsy Finds

Today I have been perusing the vast online shop that is Etsy. I thought I would share a few items that I have placed on my imaginary wishlist.

These adorable prints from janethillstudio.

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This "Brooch Bouquet" from TheRitzyRose

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These sunglasses.

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This iPhonce case...even though I don't have an iPhone.

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These butterfly shoes.

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This Aquamarine ring (my birthstone).

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This sweet vintage summer suit pattern.

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 A girl can dream, right? 

A New Jacket

So, as everyone probably knows, the frigid, arctic, terribly cold weather is still here. Booo! I suppose one benefit to colder weather is the fabulous coats and stockings you can wear.

Speaking of which....

So about a week ago I was at a thrift store, but only had a limited amount of funds. I came across a coat that was really cute, but alas, I did not have quite enough money. So I thought I would wait till I had some more money and then go back and see if it was still there. I was pretty sure it would not be there because it had been a few days, but I went anyway, and to my surprise, it was there! Along with another lovely coat that I bought intending it for my shop.

It's probably from the 70's, but has a very 40's feel to it. With the swing style, the buttons, the fur, and the hood!

In case you were concerned/curious, I wasn't very cold. I know my legs look partially bare, but I was wearing pale pink tights under the lack open-work tights. I actually went to the theater tonight with my friend Caitlin and her family to see a movie that she was an extra in. They filmed the opening scene on location at the Ohio State Fair, and she got to be a pageant contestant. You can actually clearly see her for about 5 seconds!! It was pretty exciting, hopefully she will remember me when she is famous. The movie was called "Parker." Not exactly my type of movie (R rated action flick with tons of gore and cursing) but it was a good time. Especially when our group saw her and all cheered for her.

I blow dryed my hair here. I hardly ever use heat or product on my hair, but I just felt like blow drying it today.

The dress is also 70's with a 40's vibe, but it was probably made for a petite woman, so it looks totally different on me.

As much as I hate the cold, the snow does make for some pretty pictures!

Have a good night :)


Outfit
Coat-Goodwill
Dress- Thrifted
Black tights- Gift from my sister Jaime
Pink Tights- H&M
Boots-Kohls
Heart Necklace- souvenir from a middle school field trip
Gloves- Antique shop

Brrr

It has been really cold lately! Right now it's 9 degrees. This whole week end has been pretty cold actually, so I haven't felt like being fancy...or even bothering to wear make-up.

Today I went with my dear friend Heidi to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower at the dollar theater. If you don't know anything about it, it was a book written by Stephen Chbosky. It's a coming of age story (or bildungsroman if you're fancy) about a shy boy. I read the book when I was freshman and loved it, so I was excited to see come to life on the big screen. It was very good and I would definitely recommend it!

Anyway, I found a few pictures from a long time ago that my sister Heidi took of me. Yes, I have both a a friend and a sister named Heidi!

They aren't great quality, but I think they are fun.

I should probably hit the hay now seeing as how I have class at 8 AM and it's almost 1:30.

Stay warm guys!

My Go-To 2012 Playlist

So it's probably pretty apparent from my blog, but I really love vintage. I love the fashions, the way things were done, the houses, the furniture, and all that jazz. I love oldies too, but I listen mostly to modern music. When comes to my tastes in modern music I tend to listen to Indie/Alternative/Folk music. Some might call it hipster music, but I don't care. I like what I like and I'm not apologizing. I generally stay away from rap, heavier rock, metal, and most country (I adore Taylor Swift though).

Since it's still January, I thought it would be fun to give you a playlist of my most listened to songs for 2012. Now, not all of them came out in 2012, but I think most of them did. This is just what I have listened to the most over the last year. 10 seemed too small, but 20 seemed to big, so I did my top 15.

Abbi's Playlist for 2012

1. Ruby- Kaiser Chiefs
2. Mermaid- Train
3. Lemonade- Alexandra Stan
4. On Melancholy Hill- Gorrilaz
5. Bruises- Chairlift
6. Where the Kids Are- Blondefire
7. Punching in a Dream- The Naked and Famous
8. Kill Your Heroes- AWOLNATION
9. Don't Break the Needle- J Roddy Walston and the Business
10. Dirty Paws- Of Monsters and Men
11. Furr- Blitszen Trapper
12. Lies- Marina and the Diamonds
13. 5 Years Time- Noah and the Whale
14. Let's Dance to Joy Division- The Wombats
15. Paradise- Coldplay


So that's my list. And I think the award for best album of 2012 is, hands down, My Head is An Animal by Of Monsters and Men. It is rare that I come across an album where I like more than a few songs, but I love this entire album, it's very good. Well, technically this came out in September of 2011, but only in Iceland, where the band is from. It came out in the U.S. in April 2012.

What were your favorite tunes of 2012?

Red Coat

If you have visited my blog before you will notice that most of my outfits are vintage or vintage inspired, and while I love the look, fit, and feel of vintage, I also greatly enjoy a lot of modern fashions. Most vintage bloggers out there (I said most, not all!) dress either exclusively in vintage, vintage reproduction, or outfits that have a decided vintage flair. If I had an unlimited budget, I still don't think I would dress exclusively in vintage, although I know I would do it much more often. Some people may say it's hypocritical or that I am not really into it "all the way." Well let me just say this; an oft resounding answer to the question "why do you wear vintage" receives answers like, it fits me better, I prefer the look, or it's better quality and it lasts longer. And my answer to why I also enjoy modern fashion is the I like how it looks. Granted, for a taller gal finding clothes anywhere is a chore, but if I find something that fits me really well, I am most likely going to like it. Whether it's a rayon dress from the 40's or a pair of skinny jeans. I just love clothes!

I would say that right now 1/3 of my clothes are vintage or vintage inspired fashions. Anyway, I just wanted to get off that off my chest.

Here is what I wore today. It was very modern...my gloves were vintage though.

 Haha, That fence is 6 feet.

 P.S. I am terrible at posing (if it wasn't already blatantly obvious).

 I think I got this coat 3 years ago. It is the coat I wear basically all the time, unless I am going to the gym or something. I think people are drawn to the red because I get compliments nearly every time I wear it. Today at the library at school multiple people came up and asked for help, even though it was obvious I didn't work there.


Outfit
Coat- New York & Company a few years ago.
Pants- Lauren Conrad for Kohls
Boots- Madden Girl
Scarf- Gift
Gloves- Vintage Lazarus kid skin gloves (thrifted)

Inspired by Joan

Today I was feeling a bit Joan-ish. That sis Joan from Mad Men. I love her character on the show she's sexy, but at the same time very self-assured, witty, and intelligent. A few days ago I was at a thrift store, and found this great red sweater.

I looked for a tag and discovered it was an original Pendleton sweater! Judging by the style of the tag and the seams on this sweater I would say it could be 50's or 60's. I really love it. So very sweater girl.

Sorry for the dreary weather! But at least I have natural light. It's been in the really high 50's lately so I wasn't cold at all in this.

The necklace is not a pen, like Joan's necklace is, it's a key. My sister made this necklace and gave it to me. I love old skeleton keys. I did some research on this particular one, and found out it was from a company that manufactured door and locks in the 1800's! I always wonder what it was the key to.

The shoes are Paradise Kittens brand! I was so excited when I found them.

My hair was looking a bit bedraggled, so it put it up. The front part is a Dutch braided "headband" and the back I just pinned up in a lot of different places. I thought it was kind of cute.

It was a tad bit wet.


After doing a very "Joan" look I was thinking about doing an outfit inspired by all the main female characters on Mad Men. Not very soon, but I think it would be fun.

Have a great day!

Sweater- Thrifted
Skirt- Hand me down from my sister (it's Lands End from a few years ago).
Necklace- Made by my sister
Shoes- Thrifted
Handbag- Thrifted

The Year 1940

Ok guys, today is a treat in the form of vintage Sears catalog pages! I recently discovered that Ancestry.com has archives of all the Sears catalogs from 1896 all the way to 1993!!! Of course I went and got myself a free trial to look at all the goodness, and now I will share them. Enjoy :)

There will be quite a few pictures because I am absolutely obsessed with the clothes....and don't even get me started on the shoes.

 Hooded coats...eek!

I want the ensemble from the lady on the left. So much.

Hood!

And of course you can't go without a hooded jacket!

...hooded dress. That is all

I wish I were as fancy as these ladies.

Sweater girls.

Now for accessories.

And now for the shoes. 

 I could write poetry about these shoes. I adore them.

By the way, if you love vintage shoes as much as I do, Miss L. Fire has a great line.


Favorites? :)

A Beehive... And a Gibson Girl

Recently a song that I have been playing pretty much non-stop is "Gypsy" by Shakira. It inspired my outfit, along with Jane Fonda. I also recently watched the movie, Period of Adjustment (1962) starring Jane Fonda. The whole movie takes place mostly in one day and covers what the "period of adjustment" is like for newlywed couples. She has a really awesome hairdo it in, and I love her shirt.

 

Source

I knew I had a shirt somewhat similar hiding in my closet, so I dug around and found it. It has no shirring, and buttons up the front, but the neckline and sleeves are similar. Unfortunately the top is very short, so the skirt I wanted to wear with it didn't work, but the gypsy aspect led me to a short wrap skirt that's part of a playsuit set that a friend bought for me on a cruise when we were in high school. 

I was too late for natural light again, so again I have slightly grainy photos.

 I know it's the middle of January ,but I wasn't going to need to leave the house today, so I paid no heed to the weather conditions.

 I went barefoot today because I was in the house and it fit with the whole "gypsy" vibe.You can also see Roxie made a cameo appearance.

 Now for the hair. My hair always looks better in person, but here are a few pictures to give you any idea.

 back view

 To do my hair this way, I started with curls. I just slept on yesterdays hair because my hair is naturally curly, so the curl holds overnight.I took out my "bangs" and back-combed large sections of hair until there was a ton of volume. A lot of people use lots of products in their beehives, but I only used a small spritz of hairspray at the end, so mine isn't quite as voluminous as others. Then I smoothed the top hair slightly with a comb and pinned it into place while pushing up, so I didn't lose the volume. I much prefer this looser curly version to the sleek beehives.It's much more Brigitte Bardot-y. :)

P.S.

As I was combing out my teased hair, I realized it was too good to pass up doing something to it...so I did. I did a Gibson girl style (a very loose interpretation of course) and took a few pictures. Hehehe, I kind of love it.

 It's very Anne of Green Gables, don't you think? The red hair helps the image of course.

Also, I made a chocolate cake, a generous piece of which I am enjoying right now. Enjoy your evenings everyone!