31 January 2008

What I'm Wearing



dress: vintage
jacket: H&M
tights: American Apparel
boots: vintage
purse: vintage

Today I'm going to explore the town on my own for the first time. There's a Salvation Army and a Goodwill downtown that I'm going to check out as well as a couple of vintage clothing stores.

30 January 2008

Thrifting Adventures

During a stopover in Alabama I was able to go to a few of my favorite thrifting spots to stock up the store. I found tons of slouchy 80's sweaters, shrunken boy blazers, lots of summery shoes and much more. Now that my own closet is organized I'm getting back to work on restocking the store with all my new finds.



29 January 2008

My New Closet




Today was a day of full-on closet organization. After a trip to Lowe's I was armed with all the tool I needed to finally unpack all the clothing boxes that had been stacked in the closet for a week. The sweaters are all hung in canvas shelves that attach to the closet bar. They used to be folded into drawers but I could never see them so I would forget what was on the bottom of the stack and never wear it. This way I can see all the sweaters and can give some love to some of the neglected ones. It's still a work in progress as I have room for one more chest-of-drawers for all my scarves, tights and other unmentionables. Yay! I'm super excited to finally be in the new space and will keep you undated on how things are moving along.

What I'm Wearing


black dress: Urban Outfitters
sweater: vintage
jeans: Superfine
boots: vintage

This photo is actually from Sunday night when I went out for Chinese with my boyfriend and some family that lives in our new town. At this point I still hadn't even unpacked my travel suitcase! I've really been living in the same few articles of clothing for weeks so I'm excited to organize my new closet. Also, here's your fist peek at the new apartment. We moved in without ever seeing it in person (a bit scary) but it has turned out to be wonderful so far. There is only one other person that lives in the entire four story complex so it's super quiet compared to living in LA. I'll be sad when other people start moving in (it's still being renovated). We're getting spoiled with all this quiet.

28 January 2008

Road Trip Photos

I'm finally all set up in the new apartment with internet and cable. I'll tell you this - two weeks with no internet and TV makes you feel very behind in the world. It was nice to relax, but I'm glad to be back. Here are a few shots from the cross-country drive. Our trek took us from California, down through Alabama and then up to Pennsylvania. These shots are from our stay in Arizona. Above is the Grand Canyon and below is Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and the Wupatki Pueblo Ruins. It was an amazing adventure, but if I do it again it will have to be sans cats. There were many places we would love to have stopped, but you just can't when you have three cats in the car. I don't recommend it!

The cold weather has me figuring out all new ways to layer and stay warm. I'm too stubborn to give up my skinny jeans for now but it's hard to layer anything warm under them. I've found that the tall thigh-high socks from American Apparel fit nicely over the legs of my jeans instead. More photos and catching up soon! Thanks for sticking around during my hiatus. I'll be posting regularly from now on.


11 January 2008

14 States Later...

I've finally made it! It was a wonderful adventure and I've got loads of photos to share. For now I'm borrowing someone else's computer to catch up on a few things so I don't have much time to chat. I should be completely back up and running at the beginning of next week. Thanks so much for all of the well wishes! I can't wait to get back to blogging and catch up on all I've missed. Soon! - Sally Jane

See Ya Later!


Well, this is it ladies! It’s my last post before the big move. Don’t fret as I haven’t abandoned you completely. I won’t be able to post from the road and our computer will be traveling with the movers so I’m not exactly sure when I’ll be back up and running. I'm thinking around the end of the month. The store, however, will stay completely operationally throughout the transition.

I’ll be taking loads of photos on our trip and can’t wait to share them with you. I’ll also be thrifting a lot along the way so I should have a carload of treasures to show you. I’ll also get right back to Wardrobe Remix photos. See you when I get to PA!

Love, Sally Jane

10 January 2008

Jovovich-Hawk for Target

This is the first peek I've seen of the Jovovich-Hawk for Target line due in stores this Spring. Looks promising! I can't wait to see the rest of the line. According to Milla, "Our Target line will have all our classic pieces: smock dresses, tunics, minis, all vintage-inspired, great prints. We took the things that sold the best for us but we're doing it on a bigger scale." Has anyone else seen any more of it?

A Dream Come True

Often in my daydreams I can't decide between opening up my very own vintage store or buying a vintage Airstream trailer and traveling the country. Why should a girl have to compromise? Why not do both? That's exactly what Hitch Couture has done. It's a vintage store on wheels girls! Does it get any better?

According to their site "...Hitch Couture travels in and around Southern CA to various outdoor markets, such as the Silverlake Farmers Market, and Melrose Trading Post, to name a couple, as well as private parties and nightclubs. "

Wouldn't it be perfect for a birthday party or a bachelorette party? Or I'll just take it as my own personal closet.

09 January 2008

Who Needs Prada?


For those of us who coveted the two-toned Prada socks but would never (or could never) lay down a whopping $50-$100 for a pair, leave it to American Apparel to directly rip them off and bring them to us for just $12 a pair. Every once in a while, American Apparel does some thing right. Don't quote me on that.

Ugly Dress Makeover

A couple of weeks ago I decided to brave the Jet Rag dollar parking lot sale once again. I had sworn it off after my last horrible experience there, but this particular Sunday afternoon had turned my brain to mush and I headed out armed with a can-do attitude and an open mind. What I found was a mountain of polyester 70's and 80's dresses with very little promise. After digging through mound after mound, I finally came across one with a subtle cream and black pattern that looked half way decent if I squinted my eyes. Finally! Something that showed some signs of life! I took the dress and my dollar to the counter and left for home feeling excited about the possibility of making over the dress into something cute and wearable.

Here's the before picture. Please excuse my pixelated face. My love for you guys only goes so far and it doesn't reach into Sunday-morning-haven't-showered-been-digging-through-piles-of-dirty-clothes territory. The most important thing I was looking for in the dress was a fit through the shoulders. As long as the shoulders fit, you can take it in anywhere else. On this dress, all I really want to do is take up the length to make it a mini. All you need is a measuring tape, scissors, tailor's chalk and a sewing machine (nothing fancy - I got mine at K-Mart).

The first thing you need to do is determine how long you want the skirt of the dress. I like mine to fall approximately 17 inches from my waist. That's a not-too-long/not-too-short length on me. I think mini dresses look best and are most practical when the skirt portion falls just below finger tip length when your arms are straight down by your sides. To determine how long your skirt needs to be, just hold a measuring tape up to your natural waist and let if hang down and measure where your finger tips end.

Now that you know how long the skirt needs to be, you have to determine how much to cut off the end. My skirt measures 27 inches in total length and I want my skirt to be 17 inches long so I need to make it 10 inches shorter. Wait! Before you start cutting you have to take into consideration how much of a hem you want. I like a hem of 1.5 inches so I subtract that from the 10 inches and figure out that I need to cut 8.5 inches off the bottom of the dress.

With the dress turned inside out, measure 8.5 inches up from the bottom hem, making marks with your chalk all the way around the dress. Don't skimp out and make marks only on one side - do it all the way around.

Following your chalk marks, cut the extra fabric from the bottom of the dress. Make sure you only cut through one layer of fabric at a time.

You can keep the scrap fabric for future sewing or crafting projects!

Next, with the dress still inside out, fold the hem of the dress up 1.5 inches and pin every couple of inches.

Once all your pins are in place, run a straight stitch all the way around the bottom of the dress. If you like, you can adjust this step to turn the raw edge fabric under as you sew, creating a more finished look on the inside. I do this sometimes, depending on the fabric, but since this polyester isn't going to fray, I didn't worry about it.

Voila! New mini dress. Accessorize with some tights and your favorite belt and vest and no one will ever know your dress started its life as a baggy, ugly cast off.

07 January 2008

Snow Boots

In a week I depart on my adventure cross country with the final destination being a very cold Pennsylvania winter. It's going to be a far cry from the sunny, mild Los Angeles winters I've become accustomed to. One of the things I've been thinking about is all the winter gear I'm going to need in order to stay nice and toasty. In particular I've been searching for a pair of warm snow boots. Ideally I'd like to find a vintage pair. I'm dreaming that the thrift stores there will be overflowing with vintage snow boots. Something like the ones I've seen on Ebay would do nicely:




I've already expressed my disdain for Uggs and I don't want anything that's going to make me look like I'm about to run the Iditarod. I'll buy used or vintage leather, but not new leather. I don't understand the snow-boot-with-a-heel thing either. Maybe that's just me. Any suggestions from you cold weather girls out there?

04 January 2008

An Award? For Little Ole Moi?


Lady N from Flair was kind enough to tag me with a Thinking Blogger Award. I’m obviously delighted and flattered to be recognized by a fellow blogger. She had this to say about my wee little blog:

Another thrifted fashion blog that I love because I love Sally Jane’s wardrobe remixes. She owns an online vintage shop which she is currently thrifting for as she makes her move from LA to the East Coast. How fun is that, to be thrifting for a living? She has the best vintage finds in her shop – making me think of thrifting and vintage in a whole new way.

Lady N, you’re making me blush! I’ve really got to get back to those Wardrobe Remixes soon. I consider my blog to still be a work in progress. I try to keep the tone light and positive and it’s been a great creative outlet for me. Hopefully over the next year it will continue to grow and reach even more people all over the globe. Thanks a million to everyone reading!

If I understand the concept of The Thinking Blogger Award correctly, after being tagged I’m supposed to pass along this honor to four other blogs. I’ve seen the award pop up on most of the fashion blogs I frequent so I’m going to go a different route and honor four non-fashion related blogs that give me daily pleasure. In no particular order:

The Daily Coyote: Ever dream of just dropping out and living in the wilderness far away from people and cities and all the madness? That’s exactly what Shreve has done. After making a cross country trip on her Vespa (for cryin' out loud!) she settled in Wyoming and is now raising a coyote that was abandoned by its mother as a pup. I enjoy her photos, her writing and the idea that she’s out there making it on her own terms.

Where’s The Revolution: Written by a vegan who loves to cook this blog is filled with lots of yummy recipes and ideas for the aspiring vegan (or staunch vegetarian in my case). She also brings to light issues ranging from animal cruelty to living green. Plus the site is goldmine of links to other great environmental, political and animal rights blogs.

Cute Overload: OK, if you haven’t already heard of this one, you’ve obviously been living under a rock. If I’m feeling the least bit down or stressed at work I hop right on over to CO to fill my daily dose of puppies, kittens or whatever adorable animal that pops up from time to time. Cute otters, anyone? Bear cubs? Squirrels? You can find it all here.

SnipHits (and Misses): In her own words, Betty is “not your average garden-variety PTA mom. This blog is not PG-13. I live with bikers, date musicians, have a sailor for an ex-husband, and I am related to a family of schizophrenics and manic depressives. I am bipolar and constantly teetering on the verge of poverty, heartbreak, or insanity. I heartily enjoying cursing, drinking, sex, and knitting.” That pretty much says it all. Well, except for the part where she’s a phenomenal writer with a blazing wit, a self-deprecating sense of humor and is achingly honest about her daily trials and tribulations. I think she just might be the next Dooce.

03 January 2008

New at Sally Jane Vintage

Here are the all the goods going in the store this week. Cute plaid jumpers, more mini dresses and a beautiful Rothschild coat. I'm doing my best to clear out all the winter goodies to make room for all the spring pieces I've been storing. I'll be doing a Spring Preview week towards the beginning of February so make sure you check back in. Thanks as always for stopping by!