It's hard to hold the hand of anyone who is reaching for the sky*

dress: 70s cotton floral mini
jacket: vintage denim jacket
hat: vintage wool beret
purse: vintage Coach satchel
boots: 80s lace up ankle boots
*listening to: Leonard Cohen "The Stranger Song"

Happy Sunday

This week's Flickr faves: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5&6, 7, 8, 9

Things that made me happy this week:

• Dark chocolate M&Ms, eaten in order of the rainbow - first the red ones, then the orange, then the yellow...
• Analyzing Mad Men, scene for scene, with Andreja and Tyler
• Waking up to temperatures in the 60s
• Cleaning out my closet and taking three big bags to the Salvation Army
• Receiving a lovely package in the mail from Alabama

Anna Karina

I really don't know that much about Anna Karina and her career. For some reason I always got her name mixed up with Anna Karenina. I know there's a vast sea of difference between the French actress and Tolstoy but that just goes to demonstrate my first point. I'm not sure when I first ran across a photo of her, which instantly prompted me to search for more photos, but I've been saving them in a little folder ever since with thoughts of doing a whole post about her when I got a chance.

Well, I still haven't learned that much about her (I suppose I should make my way over to her wiki page) but in recent days I've had hair on the mind. By that I mean that I'm coming to the end of my summer-hair-growin'-bonanza and I'm already itching to get it cut. Several of you have comment on my last couple of posts about just how long it's getting. It hasn't been this long in my entire adult life. Some day I'll have to dig out old photos from the days when my hair was pixie short (and platinum blond) or worse, the high school era Wilson Phillips inspired do. Yikes!

When I really started to look for photos to take to a hairdresser I was coming up short until I ran across my Anna Karina folder. I had a total eureka moment. This is the hair I want! I realize it's not too much of a diversion from my current style, but I could certainly stand to lose a few inches here and there. Mostly I want to learn to do that 60s style poof in the back. I'm sure it probably involves some hairspray and teasing but I've never really had much skill in the hair-fixin' department. I think I need to consult with Hannah and find out all of her secrets.

Supermarket Sarah

As if I need yet another way to part with my hard earned dollars, along comes Supermarket Sarah, an ingenious new way to shop online. All of the items are handpicked by Sarah and displayed on her London home's wall in a way that begs you to buy each and every piece in order to recreate the lovely collage of items in your own space. It's sort of like having a friend in London go to Portobello Market for you and then offer up all of her best finds. I've visited the store a couple of times over the past days and new items seem to appear on a regular basis. I'm especially smitten with a collection of powder compacts and the framed butterfly cigarette silks.

I am in exile, a sojourner, a citizen of some other place*

photos by Tom b.

dress: 50s cotton day dress
shoes: thrifted 80s flats
purse: vintage Coach
belt: thrifted
*listening to: Thrice - Beggars "In Exile"

Yesterday while Tom and I were running around town doing glamourous things like picking up a dehumidifier for our basement we stopped to take a few photos in front of his aunt and uncle's house. Wouldn't it be cute to have your own little pond right in your front yard?

New in the Etsy Boutique

Today I'm working on finally getting the Etsy shop updated again. I'm adding over twenty vintage dresses, including the ones I meant to add last week and never did - oopsy daisy! Here's a little preview of just a few of the dresses. Thanks so much for stoppin' by!

UPDATE: Everything is now listed and ready for purchase in the shop. Woo hoo!

An APB For BBW

Built By Wendy is one of those lines that while I don't usually love it from start to finish it always has a few pieces in it that really win me over. I'm not quite sure how I'm feeling about the new fall collection just yet so I'm going to hold off judgement until I see the individual pieces when they hit the store on August 29th.

I'm afraid I've set myself up for disappointment after falling so hard for last fall's collection (no pun intended). I just don't know if anything can top that for me! I'm still deeply regretting not snagging this wool jumper when it went on sale. Ever since, I've been searching for something just like it to no avail. Any chance anyone out there has a spare one lying around? Seriously... anyone that can locate this baby for me (in an XS) will not go unrewarded. Ready, set, go!

Orla Kiely Fall Collection

There are a handful of collections that I look forward to seeing every season because I know that I will unfailingly love them; Lyell, Lover, Dear Creatures and Orla Kiely among them. I just discovered that the Fall Lookbook is online for the Orla Kiely collection and it did not disappoint. I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a few outfits (well, I ended up with more than a few, didn't I?) to post here. You can hop over to their site and check out the entire line. It has a 60s Mia Farrow thing going on that I'm really loving.

Pretty Things

Don't these pretty 20s era headbands remind you of something Sarah Sophie Flicker would wear? I think they would be the beginnings of a wonderful Halloween costume. Or just a fancy night out on the town.

They're all for sale on Ebay right now and so far the bid are really reasonable. The auctions end tomorrow so don't miss out!

I'll be using perfect diction even though I'm terrified...*

photos by Tom b.

dress: 50s cotton day dress

shoes: vintage Ferragamos

purse: vintage Coach

*listening to: He Is Legend - It Hates You "Everyone I Know Has Fangs"

I was trying to find a way to quantify just how busy we've been this week. Let me put it this way. We haven't even gotten around to watching Mad Men yet! I know you're probably already tired of hearing me talk about house renovations but it's sort of an all consuming thing and there's not much room left in my head for much else. As far as fashion stuff goes, I'm trying to enjoy the last bits of summer even though the days have gotten miserably hot and there are huge thunderstorms that roll through every day around dinner (I actually really like the thunderstorms). There won't be too many days left when my list of "what I'm wearing" only consists of three items.

I also want to take a moment to apologize for being so woefully behind on my correspondence. I've gotten so many nice notes and requests for interviews and such things lately that I just haven't been able to respond to. I feel terrible at having let them slip! I promise I'm not ignoring you on purpose. I feel like there needs to be two of me right now. Anyone out there figured out how to clone one's self yet?! I promise I'll respond to everything I've gotten, it just may not be in the most timely manner. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

Viral Fashion

To prove just how viral things can be online, here I am posting about Vivetta, a collection I discovered through Aya's blog that she discovered through Erin's blog. Even though it seems to be yet another line I am just now discovering since I've been out of the loop, I couldn't help but repost it with my take on it. While some of the looks are a bit too cutesy for me (fuzzy coats with kitten pockets?) I do like the more streamlined outfits like the ones below. To me they feel a bit 60s French pop star meets Greenwich Village beatnik which I think perfectly sums up the image I have in my head of my fall wardrobe.

A Day Off

Whew! I'm takin' a day off from the blog. Let's all just take a moment to soak in this little lady in all of her sartorial perfection. Socks with sandals! I'd say she's a bit ahead of her time, no?

P.S. I can't remember where I found this photo, so if it's yours or you know where it came from I'll be happy to give credit.

Root's Country Market & Auction

Today we headed out to Root's Country Market & Auction. Or, as the locals call it - Root's. You'd think you would pronounce that like you would a tree root or a 70s movie starring Levar Burton, but no. You'll quickly learn around here that it's one of the peculiarities among the locals that things are not always pronounced as they seem. For instance, you can always tell a local from a tourist by the way they say "Lancaster". You can spot the locals rolling their eyes as outsiders butcher the pronunciation - saying it as you would Burt Lancaster's last name. If you're ever in town, just so you know... it's LANK-as-ter. I still don't think I say Root's quite the right way. It's something like Ruhtz but apparently I need a little more practice.

Anyhooo... we headed out to Root's or Ruhtz or however you say it on a quest for items to put in our new house. Unfortunately the extreme heat was driving most of the vendors away just as we arrived. It was barely 11AM and people were already packing up their tables and heading for cooler temps. At one booth I spotted a tray of pretty baubles I wanted to sort through but just as I walked up to the table the lady behind it started waving her hands and shouting "Vámonos!" Geez. OK, lady! No need to be so rude about it!

Since I was specifically looking for old fruit crates for storage I made a quick sweep through the flea market stands but came up empty handed. Well, not quite empty handed. Instead of fruit crates I ended up with a old folding measuring tape, a vintage button card and a little pair of clip-on shoe bows (that need a good cleaning now that I'm looking at these photos). After picking up those tid-bits I quickly found an indoor corner with a fan and promptly melted into a puddle on the floor.

On my honor I will try

I think a lot of other blogs have already posted about this collection, but I've been so out of the loop the past couple of weeks I'm only just now discovering it. Dear Creatures' fall line was inspired by 60s Girl Scouts, tee pees and science experiments. Since many of my childhood memories revolve around Girl Scout troop 119, spending nights at Camp Coleman and singing silly campfire songs the collection easily found a place close to my heart.

I spent all summer long coveting the little mustard colored 60s inspired mini dress from Dear Creatures' spring collection but I never did muster up enough extra dollars to take the plunge and buy it. But now I'm sort of glad about that because the exact same dress has shown up in their fall collection in a khaki window check plaid that I think I like even more than the mustard one.

Happy Sunday

photos from Flickr: (credits & links coming)

Thing that made me happy this week:

• Okra. Lots of okra. Fried in an iron skillet, of course.
• Finding a piece of newspaper from the 1890's stuffed in the walls.
• Learning to use a mitre box and back saw.
• The premiere of Mad Men!
• Did I mention the okra?!

This Old House

top: thrifted pointelle knit by LL Bean
skirt: 60s pleated skirt
shoes: vintage t-straps
hat: vintage wool beret
purse: 40s Bond Street bag



The last few days have included eating tons of fresh homegrown okra, pink eye purple hull peas, tomatoes and corn delivered straight from my parent's farm, scraping 50 year old linoleum off of the stairs in our 140 year old house, making plans for our very own garden in our new backyard for spring, lots of sanding, more painting, more cleaning, lots of trips to Lowe's, figuring out where I'm going to fit all of my clothes in my tiny new closet and trying to fit in a little sleep somewhere. Whew!

We're in full remodeling mode with the house right now. It's a lot of work, of course, but it's so rewarding at the end of the day to step back and see what a difference it's making. The place is already looking so much more cheerful and bright with all of the walls painted. I can't tell you how much fun I had ripping the carpet off of the stairs (and the surprise linoleum that was under the carpet - seriously, who puts linoleum on stairs?) and exposing the original hardwood stairs. We're taking lots of photos along the way and when I find a little extra time I promise to share some before and after photos with you.

Fall College Fashions

I was searching randomly for fall fashion photos when I ran across this old college fashion spread from Life Magazine. I love how all of the models look like real college students rather than fashiony models. My favorites are the velvet dress (probably for her sorority's formal, right?) and the girl balancing along the curb. Can I have her outfit from head to toe?!

Four Ways: Basics

Soooo... I took these photos a few days ago with the intention of writing up a post to go along with them ASAP. Where does the time go?! Usually I take one article of clothing and try to figure out four ways to wear it. Except this time, instead of one piece of clothing I used three. Which, yes, sort of sounds like cheating, but in the process of paring down my closet it was an exercise in combining basics to create different looks. I ended up grabbing three of my go-to pieces; a simple white tank top, a high waisted green pencil skirt and a ribbed camel cardigan.

• A simple summer look: paired with a vintage silk scarf, a simple leather belt, a straw purse and open toe sandals
• A cold weather look: paired with tights and vintage boots, a vintage silk scarf, a wool beret, a leather gladstone bag and a woven belt

• For those in between days: paired with a vintage silk scarf, a wool beret, a leather Coach satchel, a simple leather belt and Seychelles booties
• ...or: paired with a wide leather belt, a vintage John Romain bag, 30s peep toe pumps and layered necklaces

New in the Etsy Boutique

I'm working on getting more dresses listed in the shop this week. Thanks so much for stoppin' by!

I still love Tom Petty songs and driving old men crazy...*

photos by Tom b.

dress: 50s cotton day dress
belt: thrifted
shoes: 30s peeptoe heels
purse: vintage straw bag
*listening to: The Gaslight Anthem - The 59 Sound "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues"

Just when I thought we might escape the summer without a scorching day in sight, the mercury climbed to over 90 yesterday. Honestly, as much as I tend to wilt in that kind of heat, I'm hardly at liberty to complain since it's the middle of August - just the time of year when you expect that kind of thing to happen.

We're getting super excited around here about visitors arriving tomorrow from the south. (Hmmm... maybe they're bringing the heat with them). I hear they're bringing loads of homegrown vegetables with them. Including okra! I never realized what a southern staple okra is and that I'd never be able to find it around here. I don't even see it frozen at the grocery store. Not that frozen okra could ever compare to the fresh stuff.

Hello Dahhhhling

In high school I had to write a paper about a famous Alabamian for our "Alabama History" class. Most people chose Jesse Owens or Helen Keller or (for some strange reason) Nell Carter. I chose Tallulah Bankhead. At the time I really didn't know much about her, but the name was so unusual I knew she couldn't be boring. And boy, was I right about that.

Marlene Dietrich called her "the most immoral woman who ever lived." She was known for smoking a hundred cigarettes a day (despite a life-long battle with chronic bronchitis), drinking bourbon and whiskey like water (her last words were bourbon...codeine), having affairs with men and women (the likes of Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo) and taking off her clothes at the drop of a hat. In an age when starlets' reputations were crafted by studios I think she must have been a bit too much for Hollywood to handle as she had much more success on London and New York stages than she did in the movies.

There are things that came from her mouth that I'm too embarrassed to even print here! Here's a little taste of some of the tamer things she was known to have said:

• “It's the good girls who keep the diaries; the bad girls never have time.”
• “Nobody can be exactly me. Sometimes even I have trouble doing it.”
• “My father warned me about men and booze but he never said anything about women and cocaine.”
• “Cocaine habit-forming? Of course not. I ought to know. I've been using it for years.”
• “I read Shakespeare and the Bible, and I can shoot dice. That's what I call a liberal education.”
• “The only thing I regret about my past is the length of it. If I had to live my life again I'd make all the same mistakes - only sooner.”

OK, fine. Here are a couple that I probably shouldn't repeat:

• "I was raped in our driveway when I was eleven. You know darling, it was a terrible experience because we had all that gravel."
• "Don't think this has taught me a lesson!" Upon having an emergency hysterectomy for severe gonorrhea (she claims she received from Gary Cooper).
• "How do you get laid in this dreadful place?" Referring to her short stay in Hollywood.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. They get worse! She was quite a handful. Just Google her and Chico Marx to see what I mean.

Here's a little bit of Tallulah on Edward R. Murrow's TV show "Person to Person" circa 1953. What in the world does she have in her lap?!

Read more...

"Dah-ling" by Robert Gottlieb in The New Yorker, 2005

Tallulah by Brendan Gill (out of print), 1972

Tallulah Bankhead: A Scandalous Life by David Bret, 1997

Tallulah: My Autobiography (Southern Icons Series) by Tallulah Bankhead, 1952

Tallulah!: The Life and Times of a Leading Lady by Joel Lobenthal, 2004

Happy Sunday

From Flickr: Lilith Ivory, fish_bear, poppytalk, enhabiten, superbomba, openyourheart, poppytalk, the snail and the cyclops, alexcornell

Things that made me happy this week:

• Finishing the third coat of paint.
• Eating mini bagels with way too much cream cheese.
• Rewatching Season 2 of Mad Men on TV.
• Wearing plaid shirts tucked into high waisted shorts.
• Receiving the first of the fall catalogues in the mail.

And the storm blows up in her eyes...*

photos by Tom b.

dress: 40s cotton day dress
shoes: vintage Ferragamos
purse: vintage John Romain
*listening to: U2 - Joshua Tree "Running to Stand Still"

New in the Etsy Boutique

Whew! Finally, here are a few new items for the shop. I meant to have these ready by Tuesday and it's, um, Friday so I'm only a few days behind. Ha! I didn't have time for a full update so I just put a few tops and shoes in the shop for now. I've got lots of dresses waiting to be listed and I'll be getting to those next week. Thanks so much!

How Did I Not Know About This?!

OK, I know I've been a bit out of the loop for the past couple of weeks with house projects taking up all of my free time, but how in the world is it possible that this collaboration slipped past me? Emma Fletcher of Lyell for Urban Outfitters! I haven't been this excited about anything fashion related since, maybe, ever? Three pieces (seen above) are already available, but I've seen photos floating around of more fall inspired pieces. A particular tweed coat has caught my eye. I must make it mine.

Now & Later

Please forgive me, as this is one of those days I warned you about when my mind is so spent I'm having trouble typing coherent sentences. I spent the afternoon painting my new studio space and getting as much paint on me as I did the walls. Tomorrow is another full day of painting but I do hope to get a few things listed in the Etsy shop before I dive back into the paint can.

In the process of getting ready for the move I've been going through my closet and trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. My goal is to get rid of anything I haven't worn in the past year and keep pieces that will be versatile, especially in the upcoming months of transitional weather. As my "keep" pile grew and grew, I noticed it seemed to have a lot of plaid pieces in it. Among the pile was this 50s cotton plaid skirt and an H&M shirt dress. I love these pieces because they can stay in my closet all year round.

After putting these outfits together I'm thinking that plum is going to be a big color for me this fall. Also, can I mention how completely strange it felt to put on a pair of tights?!


Now: vintage cotton corset cover, felt cloche, vintage straw bag and sandals
Later: H&M ballet top, vintage wool beret, thrifted plum tights, vintage gladstone bag, UO boots

Now: vintage felt fedora, vintage Coach bag, thrifted 80s flats
Later: H&M cardigan, grey wol beret, thrifted plum tights, vintage Coach bag, vintage boots

I. CAN'T. WAIT.

These promo shots from AMC's Mad Men are killing me. Even if the show weren't so good, I think I'd watch it on mute just for the style. Luckily it's pretty much the best TV show ever, so I don't have to worry about that!











photos by Frank Ockenfels from the AMC blog

And almost better than those photos is this little behind the scenes video of the wardrobe department I discovered via The Cupcake Diary. What a dream job! I was smitten as soon as that big ol' Southern "y'all" fell from Janie Bryant's lips.