2013 in outfits

At the movies, and on my birthday.

I liked you, 2013.  Yes, there were some sadness, but the year as a whole was very good.

And there were outfits.  These aren't necessarily my "best" outfits of the year...they're just the ones I took photos of.  (I don't take a lot of outfit photos, and the ones I take now end up on my Instagram.)  Looking at these photos, I realize that I wore very few items that were brand new to me.  (A quick and probably not totally accurate count: one skirt, two dresses, two pairs of shoes, and one pair of jeans.  Some socks and tights.)  Some of the things I'm wearing here I've had for several years; at least three of the dresses I've had for over a decade!  This pleases me.  Now I just need to learn to not fill up my closet with so many vintage things I never wear.  Yes, I think it will be time for a closet cleaning soon. 

At the UICA; on Record Store Day.

On the West Side; in downtown Grand Rapids.

At Honey Creek Inn; in Vienna.

In Cadillac; in the bathroom of the Amway Grand Hotel.

xo

K

holy grails, found

Ever since I got my pixie cut lightened a year ago, I've been obsessed with the above image of Bibi Andersson (center) taken during the filming of Ingmar Bergman's Persona.  (I even blogged about it here.)  I still haven't seen the film.  But this photo made me suddenly desire a simple wardrobe of mod-ish all-black dresses, skirts and tops.

You'd think it would be super easy to find a simple black 1960s dress.  And it probably is.  But the really right one didn't show up until recently when we bought the estate of a local schoolteacher.  This black cotton floral brocade dress from her wardrobe fit the bill.  Now I just need to spring for a pair of prescription Ray-Bans!

More recently I also blogged here about Sally Draper's adorable dresses in the last season of Mad Men.  They were the cutest assortment of plaids and prints with big collars and bows.  Well, the same estate buy brought me a perfect Sally Draper dress!

It's not the greatest photo.  But it is the greatest dress!  Plaid, green, big collar, bow--and sleeveless, so I can wear it easily with a cardigan.

Have you found any holy grail items lately?

xo

K

artprize, oktoberfest, and some outfits

Between ArtPrize and Oktoberfest, the last couple of weeks in Grand Rapids were pretty happening.  We forced ourselves to take a little time off work and enjoy the beautiful early autumn weather, checking out ArtPrize and seeing downtown GRR buzzing with people.  I don't have much to say about the results, except that I'm really glad that SiTE: LAB won a much deserved prize for Outstanding Venue!  (Also, I loved this comment from critic and ArtPrize judge Jerry Saltz about SiTE: LAB.  I could not agree more.)

This beautiful work, titled Flora Metamorphicae, is by a Norwegian group of ceramics artists.

This is on the outdoor terrace of the UICA, which has lovely views of the city.  I'm not sure it's been open to the public before.

The weather was nice enough to enjoy beers on Hopcat's Lucy-friendly outdoor patio.

Poser.

These two shots were taken outside the GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum).  Food trucks!  I'm not sure they show the out of the ordinary concentration of people downtown.  Every day we were outside the GRAM, there was a line of people to get inside.

Sisters by Shie Moreno.

Short Oktoberfest break.  I'm sure Andy's shirt has been on this blog before, but I don't care.  It's too cool not to have a rerun.

The only hat that seems to fit my big ole head.  Looks like I'll be collecting berets!

Prost!

xo

k

outfits: the best of 2011

I'm a bit hesitant when it comes to posting outfits.  I love getting dressed up (though Andy will tell you it usually takes me longer than it should), but I don't particularly love being photographed (Andy can tell you all about that, too).  But I thought it would be interesting to go through my last year of outfit posts and pick some favorites.  I would say my style this year was most influenced by Game of Thrones, Miss Marple, and young girls in the 1930s (as portrayed in films such as Cracks and Hugo).  Maybe with a touch of Little Edie Beale. 

L-R, top to bottom

1) March 2011. I picked this mainly because I'm wearing a beret and I like it.  I hardly ever wear hats.  Also carrying my favorite bag and wearing my favorite tights here.

2) April 2011.  This is a great 1950s voile dress that is really flattering.  I also like the color combo of the cyan blue dress and chartreuse shoes.  The colors in this outfit were actually inspired by a street style photo somewhere.

3) June 2011.  Love this 1950s red and gray plaid dress!

4) June 2011.  1950s Swirl dress with a ballerina print.  Not the kind of thing I'd normally wear (I'm the rare girl who never cared about ballet or horses), but it's a Swirl, has a great collar, and is black.

All November 2011.

L-R

1. 1950s navy blue voile dress, 1950s embellished shrug, favorite purse, favorite silver T-straps.

2. I'd been wanting a black eyelet dress for ages and finally found this 1960s one that fit me!  And I just found another in my size from the 1950s with a full skirt and rhinestone buttons--even better.

3. I've had the 1970s dress I'm wearing here since the early 1990s.  It has the most amazing print.  I'm also wearing my new fur collar, and a new-to-me 1970s fitted tweed jacket.

xo

K