the pixie


i must say, i am long overdue for a trim to my pixie cut! one thing about having a very short cut is that it requires a lot of maintenance to keep it at the perfect length, since only a small amount of growth will make a big difference. but the daily care is quite simple since it usually requires very minimal styling, if any, and you’ll be sure to have a healthy head of hair since there are only a few inches of it!

so since i’m thinking of just exactly how i should trim my hair, i thought i would post some lovely inspiration of the classic pixie cut. i think it’s easy to think that all pixie cuts were created equal, but as you can see, there are plenty of interesting variations on the look. now i just have to decide which direction to take!

above: i can no longer remember the source on the top two images, but i believe they’re both by the sartorialist, michelle williams, audrey tautou, cecilia mendez, and a bumble & bumble cut.

below: audrey hepburn, jean seberg, and mia farrow sporting their iconic pixie cuts.

win a $250 gift card from beso.com!

this week, i’ve teamed up with one of my lovely sponsors, beso.com, to offer you another opportunity to win a $250 gift card to one of your favorite beso.com shops! if aren’t familiar with the site, it’s an online shopping destination that allows you to browse products at thousands of stores – from big name retailers to exclusive boutiques. you can customize your search options to browse by your favorite category, brand, or store.

this summer, i’m all about wedge sandals, so i did a quick search on beso.com and refined the results to show only the items from my favorite shops and i came up with tons of cute options from places like opening ceremony, urban outfitters, modcloth, and more. so i wanna know, what item are you looking for this summer?

to enter the contest:
-do a search on beso.com for your favorite summer trend (i.e. wedge sandals, florals, denim shorts, etc.)
-copy and paste the beso.com url of your results in the comments section below and tell us why it’s your favorite summer trend
-be sure to leave your email address in case you are the winner

the giveaway is open to international readers, so anyone can enter! the winner will be randomly selected to receive a $250 gift card to their favorite beso.com shop on friday, june 4 at 10am p.s.t.

calivintage in chic magazine

just stopping in on a lazy sunday afternoon to share with you a little feature! the swedish magazine, chic, has written a little blurb about me in their latest issue! i was very pleased to receive my copy in the mail yesterday and it was fun flipping through the pages to see what it was all about. it seems similar to the types of magazines you might read about celebrity fashion while waiting in the line at the grocery store, and i was surprised to see that there were lots of features about american television and movie stars.

anyway, i can’t read swedish, but one of my lovely readers gave me a rough translation of what it says, which is basically that i write a blog with a mix of vintage and modern styles.

carried away

i know i promised my guide to buying used and vintage bikes, but it’s taking me a bit longer than i expected to find actual pictures of all of my bike picks, so while i keep working on that post behind-the-scenes, i decided to share some cool bike accessories with you on this cycle chic saturday. after writing this post about my favorite fashionable mixte and dutch style bikes under a grand, i discovered another company called public bikes, which has become a fast favorite! they were a sponsor of bike to work day here in the bay area, so naturally, i had to check them out. i was quite delighted to discover that not only do they have a beautiful selection of fashionable and functional bikes, but they also have a really great web shop with lots of nice bike accessories!

in particular, i am loving their range of nice baskets and bags. the rear basket has a quick release with a handle, so it doubles as your shopping basket on quick trips to the grocery store. in addition, they have really lovely brooks roll up panniers, and a canvas pannier that doubles as a messenger bag! and for those of you concerned with safety, i quite like their sleek nutcase helmets.

outfit favorites may 28

all the pretty birds: mimosas in her garden
this is seriously the most perfect outfit and probably my favorite of the week. simple silk blouse with floral shorts, oxfords, and a seriously cool pair of sunnies. i die!

stockholm street style: sania
again with the floral shorts! (hint: i just ordered a pair for myself and am thinking of ways to style them.) i like her quirky cool look and of course i gotta love the jessica simpson charles anastase knockoffs. i got a hint from one of my readers that they’ll be replenishing stock in july….!

face hunter: saint petersburg aurora fasion week
since writing my post about floral headpieces a few days ago, i feel like i’m noticing them everywhere. which is perfect because it means more inspiration for when i finally get one for myself. i love the simple combo here: sweet, but not over the top at all.

clothes, cameras, and coffee: lady sing the blues so well
i can thank rebecca for posting a few outfits from this blog on her tumblr. i pretty much instantly added her to my blog reader because all of her outfits and shots are too stunning for words. this looks like an editorial in a magazine!

leproust vintage: under the influence volume 1 (la, la, la, la, la)
ok, how can you not love an outfit inspired by daria? i love kristen’s cool and modern take on the classic grunge outfit complete with the perfect pair of round sunnies!

stylesightings: modern dandy
this lady is rocking the menswear look so hard! from the cool bowler hat, to the perfect trench and that amazing pair of silk striped pants. she really makes me want to go all out and get in touch with my masculine side.

hello kitty

ok, ok, i said i was going to resist the urge to spam you with kitty pictures, but i had to give you guys a proper introduction! and also, showing you these photos will give you the most accurate portrayal of what yesterday and this morning have been like: no time for work, it’s kitty time all the time!but this is mostly due to the fact that she was belligerently drunk post-op and has been a rather surly handful. she was mewing constantly and falling all over the place, jumping up onto the couch only to tumble back off from a lack of balance. and unfortunately for kitty, she cannot resist the urge to lick her stitches, so we had to give her a fancy collar! you can image how much a cat might dislike having a giant plastic hat tied to her head. it’s been exhausting to say the least!but i did manage to snap just a few pictures of her this morning. we take off the collar when we know we can keep an eye on her so she can go about her way without tripping around on it. but at night, we keep it on so we can sleep! this is what she looked like when she greeted me this morning in her fashionable blue collar. a very grumpy cat indeed!


now i just need to think of a name! my boyfriend has been calling her gremlin. let’s just say, i’m open to suggestions!

flowers in her hair

since loulou loves you recently came out with a set of pretty floral headbands, i’ve been dying to get my hands on one! and while i know she would highly recommend that you go pick one up from her shop, my budget isn’t allowing me to do so at this moment. so i think i might have to go out and do the next best thing and do it myself! so i went back through my archives and plucked a few of my favorite images of girls with flowers in their hair as inspiration for a little project. all you’d need are a few supplies from a local craft shop: wire, florists tape, and an assortment of synthetic flowers. easier said than done, i know! so while i’m trying to turn thought into actions, i’ll admire these lovely photos.

anna karina, loulou in one of her creations, pandora, alexanne, from the film sedmikrasky (i highly recommend!), kelly shoestrings.

coming around

as a little follow up to yesterday’s post about vintage inspired swimwear, i thought i’d share some of the images i’ve been collecting over the past several months of the perfect round sunnies. once again, the sun refuses to come out and play, so i’ve had to seek refuge indoors, in front of the computer screen waiting for summer and planning out all the outfits i’d wear if the weather was warm and sunny. sounds like someone needs a vacation!

above: mr. newton, turned out, vintage photograph by andre zucca, the sf style, lulila.
below: vintage photograph (correct me on the source if you can), cafe mode, chic muse.

and the winner is…

lisa is the winner of a her choice of one pair of vintage sunglasses from lum vintage! she was selected as the winner using the random number generator at random.org.

thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest, but no worries if you didn’t win this time! there are many more opportunities to win great prizes each week thanks to the sponsors of calivintage.

dive right in

with all of the gloomy weather we’ve been having this spring, it’s hard to imagine that summer is right around the corner! but looking at photos of awesome vintage swimwear and browsing for vintage inspired suits is certainly getting me in the mood! i’m sure some of you have seen these vintage photos before, but for those of you who haven’t, they’re all by the photographer nina leen for life magazine in the 1950’s. i recently found them via my vintage vogue.

above: summer nostalgic bikini and natalie one piece

above: basketweave print bikini and polka dot v-neck one piece

above: beach blanket bingo two piece and beach blanket bingo one piece