style is style

today i wanted to take a moment to appreciate another one of my absolute favorite bloggers: lydia of style is style.  two years ago, when i first started sharing outfit pictures online, lydia was one of the first outfit bloggers that i discovered, and i’ve been a fan ever since.  i was immediately drawn to her fearless style and ability to work with any color under the sun.  she is a major inspiration for me, and i love checking her blog for all of her new outfits.  not only that, but she has the most infectious smile ever! 
almost a year ago, i actually had the opportunity to meet lydia during new york fashion week.  i still remember coming out of the elevator and stepping out into the lobby.  the moment i saw her, i squealed and ran over to give her a big hug.  and that was our first introduction.  she’s just as awesome as you might imagine browsing through the pages of her blog.  and that’s what i wanted to share today!

primark spring 2011

i know, i know.  it’s snowing in many parts of the world right now and we still have a few more months of winter here in the northern hemisphere, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about the season ahead! i just came across some images from the primark spring 2011 lookbook that got me pretty excited about collecting pieces for the warmer months.  too bad i won’t be able to get my hands on any of these pieces here in the u.s., but at least i can admire them from afar.

floria vintage giveaway!

this week, i am very excited to announce my newest sponsor, floria vintage!  and in honor of this most momentous of occasions, floria vintage is offering up not one, but two lovely vintage items for this week’s giveaway!  the first prize winner will receive the lovely lipstick red 1950’s frame bag with deco brass closure pictured above, and the second prize winner will receive this snazzy leopard print jersey scarf!
but before we get to the details, i want to share a little bit more about floria vintage.  this beautiful vintage boutique is based out of seattle, washington and is run by a lovely lady named samantha.  her goal is to provide well-preserved vintage pieces at affordable prices.  in fact, she even accepts reasonable offers on all of her items!
to enter, simply visit floria vintage, then leave a comment in the section below!  
this giveaway is open to international readers, so anyone can enter.  be sure to leave your email address in your comment if your profile doesn’t link to your contact information so we can message you if you’re the winner!  winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email on january 11.
see something you like in her shop?  floria vintage would like to offer calivintage readers a 15% discount on all orders now through february 4!  simply enter the code “CALIVINT” at checkout.

*THIS CONTEST HAD ENDED. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS: GRACE FROM SQUARECTOMY AND ROSEMARYX OF MOTLEY STEW.*

hearts and flowers

calivintage: hearts and flowers
i don’t usually set out to dress super girly, but sometimes the mood just hits me.  and i’d like to think that my short hair cut allows me to go over-the-top feminine without looking too much like a creepy doll.  i recently bought this silly dress with strategically placed hearts after i had spent months lusting over a particular vivetta blouse with the same motif. while the vivetta blouse was a bit pricey for the sake of experimentation, this dress seemed like a nice compromise. it took me about a month to muster up the courage to actually wear it, but i finally found myself in the mood to try. since the dress makes quite the statement, i decided to keep everything else simple and monochromatic. but just as i was about to step out for the day, this floral headband by lou lou loves you peered it’s pretty petals out from the top of my shelf. lou lou was kind enough to send this to me over the summer, but somehow it was another one of those pieces that managed to elude me for far too long! so here i am decked out in hearts and flowers, ready to ring in the new year like a silly little cupid.
dress: tofu dress
brooch: vintage hand brooch, gift from my mom
calivintage: hearts and flowers
calivintage: hearts and flowers
calivintage: hearts and flowers
calivintage: hearts and flowers
calivintage: hearts and flowers
calivintage: hearts and flowers
calivintage: hearts and flowers

for the boys: my brother’s outfit

calivintage: devin
bonus round! yesterday i told you that i was only able to document one of my outfits while on vacation in southern california last week.  but i was able to get another outfit post… of my little brother, devin!  ok, so maybe he’s not so little anymore, but he will always be my little bro, even if he is all grown up.  and i just had to share one of his outfits with you because he really is a rather dapper gentleman, don’t you think?  i like that it’s a casual outfit with refined basics that’s deliberate, but not over-styled.  we actually email each other back and forth and discuss menswear at length.  he even has a secret website where he keeps a visual catalog of all his favorite pieces.  i keep trying to convince him to make it public or start his own blog!
anyway, i may have gotten a bit carried away snapping lots of photos, but it was kinda fun to be the person behind the camera for a change.  and i really enjoyed capturing the suburban landscape of the town where i grew up.  this particular location is the 1950’s apartment complex where my dad lives.  note the foliage: lots of succulents and orange trees.
cap: surplus store wool cap
socks: smartwool
calivintage: devin
calivintage: devin
calivintage: devin
calivintage: devin
calivintage: devin
calivintage: devin
here he is making fun of silly blogger poses. i explained to him that a foot turned inwards shows off the side of the shoe.
calivintage: devin
calivintage: devin
devin makes lots of silly faces.

cape time

calivintage: cape
and i’m back from my holiday trip to southern california. i was there for a few days visiting my family in my home town of redlands. we stuffed ourselves with tamales and had good times watching movies, opening presents, and enjoying each others’ company. before i left, i sorta had this vision of taking lots of photos for the blog, but once i was there, i found myself a bit too involved in family affairs to sneak away for photo shoots. so this is the only outfit i was able to document during my trip. it was a simple comfy outfit for a day spent eating far too much christmas candy and cookies. and pretty much the entire time i was there, i would throw on my trusty new wool cape. it was a very sweet gift from my lovely boyfriend. he drove all the way to monterey to the pendleton store to get me some blankets for christmas and when he saw this cape, he thought i would like it, but just wasn’t sure. when i opened up the gift, he kept telling me that i could return it if i didn’t like it! suffice to say it’s already gotten a lot of good use! such a sweetheart.
fur: vintage fur, gift from my mom
cape: pendleton wool cape, gift from my boyfriend
calivintage: cape
calivintage: cape
calivintage: cape
calivintage: cape
calivintage: cape

win this vintage purse from the tailor’s stories!

this week, i’m very happy to be offering you the chance to win this beautiful vintage leather purse courtesy of my sponsor, the tailor’s stories.  they’re a vintage boutique run by two best friends in los angeles, california, offering a lovely selection of professionally tailored vintage clothing and accessories.
to enter:
visit the tailor’s stories and then leave a comment in the section below.
this giveaway is open to international readers so anyone can enter.  be sure to leave your email address in the comment if your profile doesn’t link to your contact info so we can send you a message if you’re the winner!  the winner will be randomly chosen and announced within this post on tuesday, december 27.
see something you like? the tailor’s stories would also like to offer you a 10% discount on your order now through december 27.  simply enter the code “caliwinter” at checkout.
*THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED. CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER: SHERRYL OF SHE FLOATS.*

up to no good

calivintage: antics
a couple of weeks ago, i spent the day with nicole of fashion forestry. we met up for breakfast at boogaloos before heading over to the deco sale where we both scored some incredible vintage pieces and generally had a blast rummaging through vintage clothing for a good part of the day. after that, we went out for dinner at tommy’s joynt, before heading over to some of the very interesting dive bars in her neighborhood where good times were had by all. these are just a few of the photos we snapped during our evening adventures.  if you were ever curious as to what i do when i’m not snapping outfit photos, this is some of it.  i would write an explanation, but i think i’ll let the pictures do the talking…
i was wearing:
vintage snoopy cap that i bought at the deco sale
nick & mo swing coat from modcloth
j.crew infinity cardigan
alice + olivia linen dress from gilt groupe
tabio 150 denier ribbed tights
vintage salvatore ferragamo bow flats
cambridge satchel from modcloth

calivintage: antics
calivintage: antics
calivintage: antics
calivintage: antics
calivintage: antics
calivintage: antics
calivintage: antics

thom dolan

i recently discovered this spring collection by thom dolan and instantly fell in love with these beautiful vintage-inspired shirt dresses.  not only are they incredibly gorgeous pieces, but i really appreciate the simple styling.  it’s renewed my interest in 50’s shirt dresses, and given me a new take on how to wear them.  i’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for dresses like this to wear once springtime comes around.  or else i just might have to start saving my pennies to get one of these.  designed and built in america.