What I'm Wearing

blouse: H&M
sweater: vintage
skirt: vintage (altered by me)
tights: American Apparel
shoes: vintage
purse: vintage
headband: vintage

Here are a couple of my recent vintage finds in action. This sweater is simply the softest thing I've ever touched and it was perfect for today's cooler weather. I was inspired to try a new skirt length by Effie. She always looks flawless in those to-the-knee skirts and dresses so when I shortened this one, I just took it up to the knee instead of my usual mid-thigh length. I felt quite lady-like and proper wearing this.

Newly Thrifted

Here are a few of the items I've picked up over the last couple of weeks that have made their way into my closet.

• This dusty rose cashmere sweater is probably the most luxurious piece I've ever found. It's so super soft and lined in silky lace. The front clasp is a beautiful rhinestone pin and it has little matching rhinestones on the sleeve cuffs. I'm still torn over the fur collar. I would never, ever buy new fur and abhor the fur industry as a whole but it always seems a shame to let vintage pieces go to waste. The collar is actually removable so if I can't deal with the fur, I can always just remove it and still have an amazing cashmere sweater.
• Next is this fitted tweed skirt. I can't even begin to tell you how heavy this skirt is. I had a hard time even keeping it clasped into the hanger to take the photo. It's going to be perfect once the weather really gets cold.
• I'm loving capes at the moment and this one is no exception. It's a nice, delicate alternative to the heavier ones I've been finding.
• My love of hats is only growing stronger by the day. This one is black velvet with a tiny little bow on the side and fine netting that can be pinned up with my hair.
• As soon as I saw this strange little headband I was head over heels. It's black velvet with netting that hangs over my eyes and a horse hair decoration on the side.
• Amongst all of these pretty, feminine finds is a pair of perfectly beat up, broken in Doc Martens. These take me back to high school (yes, I'm that old!). I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull these off with dresses but I've already been enjoying wearing them with my skinny jeans.

A Weekend in the Big Apple

This Friday the boyfriend and I will be packing up and heading to NYC for a long weekend adventure. We plan on wandering around the city at our own pace with no big plans or agenda. Just the way we like it. Besides tickets to see Nick Cave on Saturday night, we don't have any solid plans. If you live in NYC or have visited recently and have any recommendations on where to go or what to see, I'd love it hear it. We've done all the cheesy-fun touristy stuff before so I'm more interested in hearing an insider's perspective on what we should be on the lookout for. In particular any great vintage shops, gallery shows, vegetarian restaurants or quiet, dark bars. We'll be staying in Chelsea each night and sticking to Manhattan during the day. Help a sister out! Thanks!

Françoise Hardy

My plans for photo-taking this afternoon have been thwarted by the rain. Instead I'm curled up on the couch surrounded by cats, still in my pajamas, watching old TV shows on my computer. Not a bad way to spend a day. Instead of leaving you empty handed, I've compiled a collection of my favorite photos of one of my favorite fashion inspirations, French 60's pop star Françoise Hardy. Enjoy!

Modepass

Perhaps you've noticed the little flash banner over on the right side of the page inviting you to join Modepass. If you haven't checked it out yet, what are you waiting for? ;) It's a new community for fashion lovers, made by fashion lovers. All of our favorite Paris fashion bloggers got together and developed this idea. It's really quite brilliant.

Once you join you can set up your own page, make your own banner, put up your own wallpaper - in other words you can really make your page your own. They have a space for videos, photos, articles, and groups you can join. Honestly they have so many facets, I'm still discovering things to do on the site!

Fortunately, unlike some other sites, this one is set up in such a way that fosters making new friends and enjoying one another's style. It's free of the competitive nature that you can find on other style sites. So... get on over to Modepass, set up your page and start making friends!

The Vintage Society Trunk Show

Ninety-nine percent of the time I'm happy with the decision to leave LA and settle down in Pennsylvania. Then something like this pops up and I find myself wishing I was still in lala land! It seems that Beth from The Vintage Society is having a trunk show this Saturday in Silverlake. We all know that Beth is always outfitted in the best vintage finds, so I can only imagine what her stash looks like. Must be amazing! If you're in the area, it's one of those can't miss events. Have fun and let us know what you bought!

What I'm Wearing

skirt: vintage
shirt: vintage
boots: vintage
beret: vintage
sunglasses: vintage

I'm feeling a bit broken hearted this morning. If you look verrryyy closely in every one of my photos you'll notice a small silver bracelet on my right wrist. It's not a fancy, expensive bracelet but it was my very favorite thing. It's been on my wrist for about seven years, every day, 24 hours a day. Yesterday afternoon I looked down while I was making lunch and realized it was no longer there. I searched everywhere I could think but by the time I noticed it was missing I'd already been out running errands and it could be anywhere in a ten mile radius. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll never see it again. I have to say, I feel quite naked without it.

New Auctions at Sally Jane Vintage

Here's your sneak peek at some of the items that will be going up in the store tomorrow afternoon. There are lots of great layering pieces, cute fall dresses, and some truly amazing and unique shoes. My favorites are the black satin 40's peep toe pumps with the wrap-around straps. Too bad they're not my size! Thanks so much for stopping by!

(If you see something you like, click to see it a bit bigger)

Vintage Paper Dolls

Waaayyy back when this blog was just a wee little baby blog, I wrote about a collection of Swedish paper dolls that I discovered online. I recently thought of them and tried to follow my original links to the paper doll site. Sadly, the site has been removed. I wish I had saved more of the images! A little more searching turned up another collection on Flickr. This one is not nearly as extensive as the original but it has some real gems nonetheless. Wouldn't it be nice if these paper outfits could come to life?

What I'm Wearing

photos by Tom b.

60's sweater cape: vintage
skirt: vintage
shoes: vintage
hat: vintage
mini gladstone bag: vintage
tights: H&M

Friday night my boyfriend and I walked downtown to have dinner. It was finally cool enough to wear this sweater cape that's been hanging in my closet for weeks. Yay!

Street Style Inspiration

Enough of the fashion week photos already, right? What inspires me the most is real people on the street mixing and matching (or not matching!). These are my favorite looks from the past couple of weeks. I'll have these in my virtual scrapbook to refer back to all winter long.

(Cafe Mode, Hel Looks, Face Hunter, Style Sightings)

London Fashion Week

I don't have much time to write today so instead I'm going to leave you with tons of pictures upon which to gaze. London Fashion Week has come and gone and I have to admit that I enjoyed it more that NYFW. Now onto Milan and then Paris! (You can find a schedule for all of the shows here.) Here are a few of my favorite looks from London:

(Temperley London, Peter Jensen, Luella, Mulberry, Jaeger London, Charles Anastase)

Overall I'd have to say that I'm leaning towards Eley Kishimoto as my favorite collection. Sometimes it veers a bit into Lolita territory and don't even ask me what those aboriginal lizards were doing in the middle of the collection but when they keep to simple silhouettes with hints of mod and art deco, I'm a fan. Here are my picks from the collection.

What I'm Wearing

top: vintage
skirt: vintage (altered by me)
tights: H&M
purse: vintage
shoes: vintage
hat: vintage

I was feeling extra lady-like today and wanted to wear gloves with this outfit but didn't have any that I thought matched. I'll have to put that on my list of things to look out for. This skirt is one of several that I found at a thrift store and altered by cutting several inches off the hem. I prefer my skirts a bit on the shorter side to keep my outfits from becoming too granny-costume. I was surprised at just how many stares and comments I got about my hat. I guess people don't wear hats out very much any more. Just imagine if I'd been wearing gloves as well!

This Week at Sally Jane Vintage

Here's a quick peak at some of the pieces that will be going up for sale in the store tomorrow. These are getting harder and harder to part with! The maxi dress is the same one that is seen here. The little red polka dot babydoll dress tried to get lost in my closet, but I've convinced it to find a new home. That little plaid flannel dress is the warmest, softest thing ever! Good luck bidding and thanks so much for stopping by!

Captain Jack aka One-Eyed-Jack

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the Sally Jane Vintage staff, Captain Jack. Jack was a stray that was picked up by a kind stranger and dropped off at the local Humane League shelter. He was in pretty bad shape from his time living on the street but the people at the shelter gave him lots of care and kept him for several months while he recovered. As of Sunday he has a new home with us. He may only have one ear and one eye but he's got a keen sense of fashion and loves to help while I take photos.

Four Ways - Sweater Vest

I suppose it would be more accurate to title this post "Four Looks" rather than "Four Ways" since there's really only one way to wear a sweater vest. But in interest of continuity, "Four Ways" it shall be. This is one of my recently thrifted items that I can already tell will be a staple of my wardrobe come cooler weather. I'm looking forward to pairing with just about every thing from dresses to jeans, from button downs to t-shirts. Once the weather really cools off, I'll be piling even more layers on top, pairing the vest with blazers and my beloved faux leather motorcycle jacket. Here's a breakdown of what you see here:

• With a patterned vest like this one, you can layer it over a solid basic like a little black dress and let it be your pop of color. A belt wrapped around the waist gives this look a little shape.
• Sadly, the subtleties of this pairing have been lost in the photo. I've paired the vest with a herringbone skirt and a tiny polka dot blouse. Not that you can tell. I was trying to demonstrate mixing patterns and textures but the details just didn't show up. Well, I guess you'll have to use your imaginations on this one! ;)
• A vest is always a sure thing paired with jeans. My basic skinny jeans and favorite tee become a little something more when layer with the vest.
• I also like to wear it with a pair of wide leg jeans and a little boy's button down. With the wide leg of the jean, I like the shrunken fit of a little boy's shirt to keep the proportions in check.

What I'm Wearing

dress: vintage (thanks Rhiannon!)
sweater: Anthropologie
shoes: vintage
purse: vintage
sunglasses: vintage

When I saw this dress in Rhiannon's store I knew it had to be mine. The cut of the dress, the black and white checks, the pretty little rhinestone buttons. It was love at first sight. I finally got around to taking the hem up a couple of inches just in time to wear it on this beautiful, windy day.

New York Fashion Weak

Oh, please forgive me for the terrible pun. I just couldn't resist. New York Fashion Week has left me feeling a bit let down. Perhaps it's because my head is completely filled with visions of fall fashions or maybe it's because sometimes Fashion Week reminds me of what I dislike most about fashion - how it's designed to make you feel as if you need, need, need the latest designer creation in order to be "in fashion". I usually enjoy seeing the daily updates on style.com as the collections pour in from the tents. This time, for some reason, it just seems like such work digging through collection after collection waiting for something to catch my eye. To be perfectly honest, I didn't even make it through all of the collections. I'm hoping that I just skipped over the one that would have knocked my socks off had I the will to trudge through them all. Did I? Do you have any recommendations? Maybe come February when I'm complaining of the cold and wishing for warm spring weather I can revisit these collections and enjoy them a bit more. I'm crossing my fingers that I can muster up more excitement for London Fashion Week. Sorry to sound so dour! All is not lost... here are a few looks that I'm saving for that dreary February day.


J. Mendel, Barbara Tfank, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Abaete, Rebecca Taylor, Karen Walker

In The Inquirer

Thanks so much to blog reader Inabeena from Dreaming in Technicolor for scanning this article from the Inquirer, a newspaper in the Phillipines. You can click on the photo to view it larger.

A How-To Guide To Getting Dressed

I'm sure by now we've all checked out the newest collection from A.P.C. This is one of those stores I would raid the day after I won the lottery. The pieces are all so simple and classic, the colors subtle and the look-book showcases all of the clothes in perfectly layered ensembles. I've taken the style stalking a step further by saving all of their look-book pages to folder on my desktop as a how-to reference to getting dressed. That way, on the days I'm not feeling very creative or just don't want to think about getting dressed, I can pull up one of the photos and cheat a bit. If you haven't seen the collection, you can check it out here.

Tag, I'm It!

I've been tagged by Ranna at Only Shallow to list seven songs that I'm currently listening to. Since music is a great love, perhaps only second to fashion, I'll gladly take this tag. Here goes:

• Danzig II: Lucifuge: Long Way Back From Hell - Danzig has been accompanying me on many bus rides lately. I just put in my ear buds, turn it up and pretend all the crazies on the bus aren't trying to talk to me.
• One Day As A Lion - There are certain songs that define a point in everyone's lives. An album that you play over and over, or a song that reminds you of a certain time and place. Rage Against The Machine always holds a special place in my heart for those reasons so I'm excited to listen to Zack de la Rocha's new project. I've just started listening to this EP so I don't know if I can pick just one song.
• People in Planes: Beyond the Horizon: Pretty Buildings - I love, love, loved their last album so I'm super excited about this new one. It only came out this week so I haven't had much time to listen to it over and over like I want to. If the early single is any indication of what is on the album I have a feeling I'll be wearing this one out.
• The National: Um, pretty much every song - I was a bit late on discovering this band. The first album I heard was Boxer, their latest album. I fell in love with it instantly. After seeing them live earlier this year, I've started delving into earlier albums and I'm wishing I'd discovered them a long time ago!
• The Casting Out: Go Crazy! Throw Fireworks! - OK, this is turning into a list of albums rather than songs. I don't think this album is technically available here yet. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on a copy. I was an uber fan of Boysetsfire and since this is the new project from BSF singer Nathan Gray, it was only natural that I'd love this too. (BTW, this is not the new album's cover art)
• My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges - Yes, I have officially given up on picking just one song. If you even think you might sort of like MMJ, I implore you, you must see them live. I saw them just last week at Constitution Hall in DC. For the third time. They do not disappoint.
• Radiohead: In Rainbows - I think I'm a Radiohead fan for life. This album is perfect for the rainy days we've been having lately.
• Travis: Something Anything: J Smith - Travis is one of my all time favorite bands (Fran Healy is one of my all time favorite crushes). This album hasn't come out yet but I've been listening to the two songs previewed on their site over and over. I can't wait to hear the rest.

I guess that's eight songs, er, albums. Just chalk it up to my OCD kicking in. I needed an even number of album covers in my collage to make me happy so you got a bonus album on the list. :)

Vintage Finds

I just realized that I haven't shared some of my favorite vintage finds of late. It seems that the vintage gods have been on my side as I've finally found several things for which I've been searching for months. I've also been stockpiling things for cooler weather. I actually wore a pair of newly thrifted green suede boots out of the house last night and they were perfect. Sorry, no photos of those yet. Later, I promise. In the mean time, here's a collection of photos I'd like to share with you of some of my favorite finds.

• I've been on the lookout for a vintage train case for ages. I see them on EBay all the time, but haven't ever placed a bid. I really wanted a robin's egg blue one, but I found this olive green one and it'll do just fine. I'm going to use it as a sewing case (I guess that means I need to start sewing!).
• This black leather mini Gladstone bag is perhaps my favorite find in weeks! I've been coveting Effie's perfect one ever since she first showed it. I'm always searching for them on EBay but they all seem to be located in the UK (why is that?) and go for a pretty penny. This one opens up to reveal the prettiest vintage fabric lining. Love!
• I've been collecting vintage hats. The black velvet one is from the 30's and will look perfect with a feather in the band. The tweed fedora has found a permanent home with my boyfriend and, I must say, is a perfect fit.
• I'm excited to try out this vintage Polaroid Land camera. I actually have some 669 film left over from some Polaroid transfers that I did a while back. I hope it works!
• Shoes for autumn in every shade of brown a girl could want. I can't wait to pair these with tights and wool skirts.
• This bakelite rose necklace is a pretty shade of burnt orange.
• I felt like I'd run across a lost treasure when I found this collection of vintage handkerchiefs. They are all so delicate and feminine with floral prints and embroidered scalloped edges. The ones with the dogwood prints are my favorites, of course.
• A cream colored 50's blouse with a rounded collar and decorative button placket on the front. This is the exact blouse I've been searching for! It even zips up the back.
• A swingy corduroy jumper. An autumn wardrobe must-have.
• Sweater vests. My new obsession. I can't wait to figure out all the ways I'm going to wear these. I'm working on a Four Ways post with the argyle one. I'll post it soon!
• This wool jumper reminds me of one in the new Built By Wendy collection. I shortened it and added the ethnic embroidered belt. I actually found several jumpers like this and the others are sitting in my to-sew pile and will go up for sale in the store.

(If you'd like to see these photos a bit bigger, you can go to my Flickr photostream)

New at Sally Jane Vintage

It's that time again! Here's your first look at some of the pieces that will be posting for sale in the store tomorrow. Fall dresses, wool skirts, pretty sweaters, mod boots and mary-janes and so much more! When they're gone, they're gone so if you see something you like be sure to bid. Thanks so much! Lots of love - SJ

Sewing Schmewing

I’ve been bitten once again by the sewing bug as happens from time to time. I’ve taken a few sewing classes and possess some basic sewing skills. I can sew a straight seam, install a zipper and have even set a sleeve. The thing that I lack the most is the patience to see the project through from beginning to end. There’s a particular dress pattern that I was itching to tackle all summer but every time I took the pattern pieces out of the package I was instantly panic stricken and stuffed them right back into their envelope. I’ve decided that to get back into the sewing groove I should start easy. Instead of trying to sew a garment from scratch I’ve been making a list of pieces to be on the lookout for at thrift stores that I can alter and experiment with without worrying about ruining an entire bolt of fabric. A few of my ideas are:

• Finding high waisted 70’s skirts and shortening them into swingy mini-skater skirts.
• Using the leftover fabric from the hem of the skirt to make some sort of suspenders (or braces depending on where you’re from!) to button onto the waist of the skirt.
• Finding worn-in flannel shirts and taking in the side seams and shortening the sleeves to make skinny button downs.
• Finding high waisted pants to cut off into shorts. Something like these.

In the mean time, enjoy this collection of photos from Iowa State University Library Special Collections' photostream of young women learning the ins and outs of garment construction, from studying textiles to draping to weaving their own fabric all the while prim and proper in their sweater sets and circle skirts.

What I'm Wearing

dress: H&M
socks: Undercover
shoes: vintage
sunglasses: vintage Rayban
purse: vintage
hair clip: made by me

We were stuck indoors for most of the weekend as Tropical Storm Hanna drenched us with inches of rain but we were able to get out Saturday night and drive to Delaware for dinner with friends.

Mine, Mine, Mine!

I’m not in the habit of posting photos of designer collection that are completely out of my reach – both physically and financially. However, I’m quite taken with the A/W 08 collection from Mine. I've got a serious jonesing for that embroidered bow necklace (I'm racking my brain to come up with a DIY remake). Rather than wax poetic about the line’s finer points I’ll let the official press release do the talking:

Katherine Pont was born in Sydney and moved to London after graduating from an honours degree in painting and drawing at the College of Fine Arts. She has lived in the UK for seven years, and has been designing her independent label Mine since 2003.

Inspired by surrealist silent movies and Aztec geometric aesthetics, the new collection, entitled "Elsie Moved in Circles", is born from a 1920s fantasy, when swing and jazz met the city lights of skyscrapers and smoky eyes. Ensembles could be imagined for the starlets of silent cinema.

The art deco shapes of modernist buildings create an Aztec inspired pattern enhanced by lazer-cut leather trims. The collection is subtle in its glamorisation; the soft illustrated digital prints on layered sheer silk cottons are combined with hammered silk, drapey jacquards and wool jerseys. Tailoring hints are embellished with embroidered bows, square buttons and checks like windows, while quilting echoes harlequins and pleats are like the tiers of a building.

What I'm Wearing

dress: vintage slip worn as dress
tights: UO
shoes: vintage
hat: vintage
purse: vintage
flower pin: H&M

While I'm working at home, I'm usually parked on the couch, cat in the lap with the TV tuned to TCM. I've been catching so many great movies lately. One day there was a Barbara Stanwyck marathon (if you haven't seen Baby Face, you're missing out!), the next day a Katherine Hepburn marathon. I'm looking forward to the upcoming spotlight on Kay Francis. Even when I'm too busy to actually pay attention to the story lines I'm drawn in by the wardrobe and styling of the movies. You'd think the whole world used to live in floor length, bias cut satin gowns! In other words, I'm up to my ears in vintage movie inspiration and I think it's beginning to show.

It's Autumn at Sally Jane Vintage

Well, here it is! The first batch of Autumn goodies going up for sale in the store tomorrow. I was so excited about these pieces I just couldn't wait until then to reveal them to you. One of the questions I'm asked most often is how can I part with all the the pieces that I sell. The answer is, it's really hard sometimes. I've having a particularly hard time this week! So many of these things could have easily ended up in my closet. But, alas, my closet is already too full as it is. Speaking of which, I've been working on a major closet overhaul so I'm going to be selling off a bit of my personal wardrobe. Over the next few weeks you may see some familiar vintage pieces as well as lots of non-vintage things from my favorite stores such as H&M, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie.

(If you see something you like, click on the photo to see it a bit bigger.)

Wikstenmade

I'm usually the last one to know about just about everything so maybe Wikstenmade isn't news to you but I just discovered it last week (thanks to StrikeMatch). Wikstenmade is a simple but thoughtful line of handmade clothing churned out by one woman show, Jenny Gordy. She does everything from designing and sewing each piece to selling her wares in her own online store. Each piece has just the right amount of details with buttons, tabs, pintucking and pleating in all the right places. Her new Fall line is up in her store right now but doesn’t go on sale until tomorrow. If you see something you like make sure you snatch it up fast. I hear they go pretty quickly. While the pieces are unfortunately out of my price range I find it so inspiring to see someone living out a dream and making her own way. It’s so important to support independent businesses when you can.

She also has a blog that is a must read where she documents everything from her design inspirations, her shopping adventures and her own personal style. She even gives helpful sewing tutorials for those inclined to try their own DIY wardrobe. It’s definitely lighting a fire under me to break out the patterns and try sewing from scratch again.

N.E.E.T Magazine

I was tickled pink when Stephanie, the editor and one woman dynamo behind NEET Magazine, contacted me to be a part of the new issue. Imagine my delight when I opened the page and there I was staring back at myself from the cover (thanks for the tip Alice)! Be sure to hop on over and check out the issue. It's chock full of DIY goodness, thrifty fashion and some of our favorite bloggers and warbrobe_remixers such as the girls of Moderniter and Sarah aka SherbetTone.

Update: I've had several questions about where to pick up a copy so I wanted to let everyone know that NEET is a free online digital magazine that is available to everyone. Yay! Just click on the link above and it will take you right to the magazine's site. Be sure to check out all of the fantastic back issues while you're there.

What I'm Wearing

dress: vintage (from our trip to MA...will be going up in the store. I just wanted to wear it once!)
hair clips: made by me
sunglasses: H&M
shoes: vintage

Goodbye summer! Goodbye fireflies and ice cream trucks, long hot days and humid nights. Goodbye beach vacations and sandals, caterpillars and day lilies, airy cotton dresses and flowers in my hair.

Have a wonderful Labor Day! :)