mom jeans + puff sleeves – est. 2008
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so whenever i get something i really really like, i usually wear it for like a week straight. i suppose that’s kinda gross, but it’s actually a good sign, because it means i’ve found something good. which is probably why i’m wearing my brand new j brand jeans along with my swedish hasbeens for the second day in a row. i just changed up the look a little bit with a nautical theme and topped it off with this adorable rabbits brooch i got from oh my cavalier! i only recently discovered her little shop and i’m already considering a few more purchases!
if you haven’t noticed, i’ve definitely been in shopping mode since the weather changed and the springtime started. but since i’ve already dropped a bit of cash on “investment pieces,” i’m now switching gears and getting really excited about some major thrifting. i think i’m going to spend the rest of my afternoon driving all around the east bay checking out what they’ve got in store on the racks of all my favorite thrift stores.
hat: vintage straw boater
shirt: rodarte for target
jeans: j brand 210 the oslo in indigo
brooch: oh my cavalier! dancing rabits
clogs: swedish hasbeens peep toe super high in mustard
now, before you get too worked up, i’ll have you know that these are not recent purchases. these are just a few of the dresses that have caught my eye on etsy lately, but that either didn’t fit or else sold before i mustered up the strength to click the “commit to buy” button. and i thought it might be a good way to illustrate two points: one, i have an etsy addiction and i spend entirely too much time browsing through hundreds of vintage dresses, sweaters, shoes, and accessories. and two, this is an example of how challenging vintage shopping can be!
i’ve gotten quite a few questions asking how i manage to find great vintage clothes. it’s always a difficult question for me to answer because there isn’t really a good answer for it. all i can say is that it takes dedication and the willingness to dig through piles and piles and racks and racks of clothes at vintage and thrift shops. or else a daily obsession with checking all of the new etsy or ebay listings, reviewing the measurements and squinting at the computer screen trying to tell if that spot you see is a shadow or a stain. and it means finding an awful lot of amazing, mind-blowing, life-altering pieces that just aren’t your size.
so now, if you haven’t already been bit by the vintage bug, you’re probably wondering how it’s worth it. it kinda sounds miserable, no? but that’s the thing. if you’re anything like me, then you know the exhilaration of digging up a beautiful gem at the bottom of a pile of weird paisley polyester maxi dresses at an estate sale on a saturday morning at 6am. it’s the thrill of the hunt and that tiny inkling that you might come across the holy grail of vintage, no matter how many times you’ve walked away from a sale empty handed.
go look: baby blue dress from oldage, pink floral mini from littlebeevintage, yellow lace mini from croatiavintage, white eyelet dress from deargolden, raspberry dress from raspberrymacaroon, chambray dress from santokivintage
i thought that referring to myself as a hasbeen was particularly apt today considering i just got my new swedish hasbeens in the mail and i totally decided to pair them with this old marc by marc jacobs coat that i bought waaaay back in 2001 when i was 18! (yeah yeah do the math on that one.) but like the tag on my shoes reads, sometimes you have to “move back to be able to move forward.” and i quite like that. but i guess you already knew that, considering that this blog has so much to do with vintage!
so while this marc coat isn’t quite vintage, it’s already 9 years old, which is about how much time it took me to like it again. and i kinda have to commend my 18-year-old self for that purchase, actually. i think that nowadays, i might find myself much too cautious to buy a huge orange military-style coat that looks like something straight out of sgt. peper’s lonely hearts club band. but at the time, i didn’t even flinch when i bought it. i was like, yeah, i’m 18! no rules. i’m spending all the money i saved over summer to buy marc jacobs. woo! or something like that. haha!
i’m sure you already recognize that first dress pictured up top, since modcloth was nice enough to name it the calivintage dress! but it’s a dress in a collection of many other awesome pieces from dear creatures spring/summer 2010 that i just had to share with you. this year was the first time i actually got my hands on one of their pieces, and i have to tell you, i was not disappointed. the fabric and construction is strong and sturdy and the cut of the dress is perfectly flattering, so i’m definitely going to be keeping my eye out for some of the other pieces when they come out. in particular, that precious sailor collar romper!
and just for fun, here are a couple little bonus shots of another way i wore the dress. since after i got it, i’ve probably worn it 5 times already!
after spending my weekend out in the woods, i had to wear something completely different today. something delicate, like lace and eyelet in pale pastels, perfect for keeping all neat and tidy on a shopping day. i recently ordered this marc by marc jacobs jacket on final sale at gilt groupe. and if you’ve ever shopped the site, then you know the frenzy of refreshing your screen at exactly 9am to pounce on your favorite items before they all disappear into someone else’s shopping cart. then, if you’re lucky enough to get what you want into your cart, you have but mere minutes before you commit to the purchase or else it’s gone forever. ok, i’m being dramatic, but they definitely do a good job of making it feel very dire. anyway, i managed to get this baby into my cart, and i felt quite proud of myself.
on a completely different note, do you ever feel like you need to match your hair color to your outfits? i’m a big fan of wearing pastels lately, but i just can’t bring myself to go all the way with every single piece being such a light color because i have dark brown hair. i always feel the need to anchor it with at least one dark item in my wardrobe. it usually ends up being the shoes or some other accessory. i guess that’s just my slippery slope with dark colors in general.
see something you like? tree & kimball would also like to offer an exclusive 10% discount to calivintage readers for the month of april. just enter the code “calivintage” in the note to seller during checkout to receive your discount.
to enter the giveaway, visit the tree & kimball shop and check out the great selection. then leave a comment in the section below with your email address so we can contact you if you’re the winner.
this giveaway is open to international readers and is good for one lace necklace valued at $28 or below with free shipping. winner will be randomly selected and announced on april 9 at 10am p.s.t.
with the amount of pictures i had to share with you in the last post, i decided that i should probably do a separate outfit post to show you what i wore for my weekend camping trip at a farm in northern california. the forecast called for freezing temperatures over night and rain on sunday, so i knew i had to be prepared for conditions that us city folk just aren’t quite accustomed to. since i quite enjoy going on weekend excursions such as this, i try to collect functional clothing whenever i’m out shopping in the thrift stores. and last summer, i was more than delighted when i found these vintage ll bean duck boots for $5 at a local thrift store. only thing is, i live in california, so it took me this long to actually find a situation where i would need to wear them. and i have to say, they came in handy!
layers you can’t see:
smart wool long johns, rei
smart wool socks, rei
so i kinda went crazy and took like a million photos during my weekend trip to the farm. so consider yourself forewarned, this is a very picture heavy post! to explain, i went on a little weekend excursion out towards grass valley, ca, to celebrate the birthday of one of my pals, brendan (he’s the dude standing with me in front of the fire in the picture below). his sister recently started a farm there, so we decided to make it a big birthday bash/camping weekend/ good times in the country celebration. it’s pretty funny, despite all of the flannels, beards, and puffy jackets, we certainly do look like a bunch of city kids out in the country!
we arrived on saturday afternoon, and enjoyed the sunny (albeit very chilly) day around the farm, keeping warm by the fire, playing silly basketball games, jumping on the trampoline, kicking around a soccer ball, and other such activities until the evening when a friend’s band arrived to play a set before ending the night with a dance party in the barn. it was all around good times, so i thought i’d share some of the pictures i took from when we arrived, fresh and ready for the debauchery ahead of us. i’ve spared you the photos from later in the evening, or worse, the next day. haha!
with the birthday boy in front of the fire. it was a little too smoky for us city kids.
jessie and brendan.
mark and jackqueline.
the barn.
in the barn with mark.
this is my boyfriend, brendan. he doesn’t like to get his picture taken, so he makes silly faces.
brendan and brendan.
jason arrives.
jessie and another jason.
a walking tour.
jason and jason face off on the court.
soccer field!
check out my trampoline skillz.
the pinata arrives.
ryan poses for his outfit pic. (he works for nasty gal so he’s well versed in these things.)
bevan.
we set up the tent! it was seriously cold by this point.
campsite. i’m not gonna lie, when we saw our frozen tent later that night, we retreated to the farm house to sleep on the living room floor.
trendycrew: stripes & dots, paris
with the arrival of spring, i can’t seem to get enough stripes. and i just love the pairing of stripes and polka dots with warm and cozy stockings!
the sartorialist: ada, paris
this is pretty much perfection. doesn’t she look like she walked right off the set of a photo shoot? so perfectly cool and casual.
facehunter: london – soho
always and forever obsessed with capes and capelets. this is such an easy, wearable ensemble with skinny jeans and the perfect flat boots.
facehunter: london – rebecca, broadway market
i’m a sucker for brown and blue lately. this is a simple outfit, but she adds a perfect amount of quirkiness with the white socks and classic flats.
