transitional dressing

Andy and I went out on Saturday to see a Japanese film at the UICA and to visit our local favorite, Vertigo Music, for Record Store Day.  I had a sudden desire to wear this this pink and white embroidered skirt.  Let's call it a spring craving.  Because this spring has been the polar opposite of last spring, at least in western Michigan, and the weather has stayed pretty cold.

So the springy skirt had to be worn with tights, boots, a sweater...and my faux leopard coat.  And you know, I think this might be the best look for this skirt, ever.  Pink and leopard go together as well as pink and lipstick red do, if you ask me.

Just like handsome guys go together with pea coats.

xo

K

spring hair

If you follow me on Twitter,  you've already might have seen a couple of these photos, but I got a much-needed haircut and a color update last week.  (For anyone in the Grand Rapids area who reads this blog: Didi at Panopoulos is the woman who does my hair, and she is absolutely fantastic!  She is also a great friend and a lot of fun.)  I love it, and I think I'll be wearing lots of gray, blues, and green with this hair color.

Andy and I went on a movie/art opening/dinner date this weekend, and I wore my heaviest coat because it was supposed to be cold.  But the sun was über bright and Colorado intense, so I ended up not so buttoned up.  You've seen all these clothes on my before in this blog.  The coat is my favorite, and that dress and those shoes get a lot of wear.  The needlepoint bag is relatively new, though.

The only vintage garment on Andy is this beautiful Harris tweed jacket.  We are always on the lookout for Harris tweed items, and find it more frequently in menswear than women's clothing, but often the jackets are bad, boxy cuts.  This one is nicely tailored and looks great on Andy.

The movie we saw was Argo and I think I've already grumbled enough about that.  We also checked out an art opening at the UICA, at which one of my favorite local music acts, the Kent County String Band, played.  I really loved the shadows cast by these silvery discs in the room where the band played.

xo

k

merry!

It's Christmas Eve in Michigan.  We don't have much snow, but we're ready for a few days of relaxing: playing backgammon, cooking, watching old movies, experimenting with cocktails, and gathering with friends.  Sounds perfect, doesn't it?

But first, we had the Small Earth Vintage Holiday Party on Saturday evening.  This consists of Andy and me getting dressed up and going out for drinks and a steak dinner.

I'm wearing a 1950s chiffon skirt with flocked feathers and rainbow glitter on it (see detail shot below), which I'm pretty sure has seen time on the blog before.  The bag is 1940s vintage, and my velvet cropped jacket is 1950s; the rest is not vintage.  This is really dressed up for Grand Rapids, by the way.

Andy looking dapper as heck.  I love that jacket--vintage Brooks Brothers herringbone!

The moon over our house.  It was such a pretty evening.

Happy holidays, everyone!

xo

K

SiTE: LAB at ArtPrize 2012...and an outfit

Last year I declared the ArtPrize had jumped the shark after a giant mosaic of a crucified Jesus was the a finalist (and then went on to win) the top prize, which is decided by popular vote.  There was some controversy after this--plus a real fear that actual artists would stop coming to ArtPrize when only the biggest, most pandering-to-a-west-Michigan-crowd pieces had a chance of winning.  Happily, this year a juried prize has been added. And anyway, nothing was going to keep me from seeing the latest from SiTE: LAB, the arts group that consistently brings thought-provoking and edgy art to Grand Rapids, always using interesting (and often abandoned) spaces, to do so.  This year, they were providing space for several artists at Grand Rapids' former natural history museum, the old Public Museum (which they had previously transformed in 2010--see my posts about it here and here.)

Large sod islands by Blane De St. Croix hover over the museum's atrium, where once a full scale model of a whale was hung.

Specimen, a glass sculpture by Wes McGee and Catie Newell.

Artists not only used the Public Museum's old exhibit spaces, but often used the actual items from the exhibits and other items from museum storage.

I loved how Scott Hocking incorporated old books into this piece.

This had the best title card ever.

I love the "*shown here without the box" part.

This piece by Design 99 called Displacement was basically an estate sale taken apart and put back together behind glass in a museum.

View of Blane De St. Croix's UnNatural History from above.

Bubbles emerge from the floor in Lisa Walcott's Breathing Room.

Part of the Complex Movements/Tiff Massey multimedia piece.

That's just a taste of what you can see at SiTE: LAB.  If you're in Grand Rapids, or thinking of coming to see ArtPrize, you must visit the SiTE: LAB exhibits.  You are really missing out if you don't!  Tomorrow I'll be checking out the artists at the UICA, and I'm sure--if last year was any indication--that there will be more great stuff to see there!

This is what I wore.  I decided to be all artsy and mix prints: a new-to-my-closet 1960s leopard print dress and a been-in-my-closet-ages 1950s poppy print cardigan.  And yes, it's boots weather!  Sort of.  It's that time of year when I wear boots when I'm not quite ready for the tights.

xo

K

an outfit

I have the lovely Teresa of Bess Georgette to thank for this outfit post.  She does a neat segment on her blog every so often about collecting certain colors.  She recently did one on orange, which made me wonder if I had any orange clothing in my closet.  This 1960s dress with its kind of Halloween-y orange and black rose print was the only item I could come up with.  And Teresa's post reminded me I hadn't worn it in awhile, so out it came!

Andy is wearing a 1950s gray cotton/rayon blend shirt with a hidden button placket, and 1950s Florsheim oxfords.

Happy September!

xo

k

unwitting rebel

When I read Teresa's latest post on her great blog Bess Georgette (which you should be reading), I LOL-ed--for reals!  (I don't know, is it more annoying to say "for reals" or "literally"?  Or maybe saying "I LOL-ed" is the most obnoxious.  Hm.)  The post is the latest in her "Lately I'm loving" series, and it's about the colors blue and green (go check it out--Teresa is wearing a really cute outfit).  It was a case of long distance synchronicity (really long distance, since I'm in the American midwest and T is in Hong Kong), because I had just stepped out on the town wearing this very combination.  Last weekend I did a long overdue spring cleaning of my closet, and in the process came up with some new outfit ideas.  As you do.  I thought the kelly green 1970s sweater and 1980s navy blue polka dot skirt would make a nice couple, and wore them on Saturday.

1962 L'Officiel cover, via Jalou Gallery

Teresa's post also included this great 1962 L'Officiel cover and I've just blatantly stolen it from her (thanks, T!) because the Dior outfit on the cover reminded me of my outfit--only classier, and y'know...Dior.  Hey, the color scheme is pretty similar and there are polka dots.  Anyway, I learned a color/fashion rule I was completely unaware of from Teresa's blog post: "blue and green should never be seen except inside the washing machine."  Did you know this rule?  Well, I'm in agreement with Teresa that in the case of kelly green and dark blue, it is a rule meant to broken.

Do you have any fashion/color rules you will not break?  Or is anything fair game?  I'm not much of a rule-keeper, I admit.  If I like it, and don't think I look hideous in it, I'll probably wear it.  I do avoid wearing white, since I'm so pale and fear it will wash me out (I just learned lime green is a hideous color me, as well).  If you have a color or fashion rule you follow, put it in the comments; I'd love to read it.

(Oh, and be sure to visit Teresa's blog post about this color scheme--it has some more really great vintage examples of it!)

xo

K

black eyelet

I've had a windfall of black eyelet dresses lately--two that fit me!  (That's a windfall in my life.)  This one is my favorite--1950s, full skirt, rhinestone buttons.  It's my favorite dress right now.  I was going to wait until warmer weather to wear it, but...that seemed silly.  So I put on this cute cardigan.  It was so freakishly warm and sunny on Saturday afternoon, I didn't need a coat.

The sun was disturbingly bright.  Colorado, high altitude-style bright.  I know no one will agree with me, but give me an overcast day.  Always.  Normally, Michigan is very good for overcast days.  Okay, I'll stop annoying everyone by complaining about the cheerful, sunny weather now.

We were downtown to see the Rauschenberg exhibit at the GRAM, but we also played some pinball at the Pyramid Scheme, where I had to take some photos of Jeff VandenBerg's great murals.

xo

K

who wore it better?

Me, or... me?  Yeah, I'm posting an outfit post and it's nearly exactly the same as the last outfit post I did here, which was at the beginning of October.  Whoops.  So who wore it better?  November me, above?

Or October me, below?

My vote goes to November Me.  She has a relatively fresh new haircut, and doesn't have a bulky jacket on.  No surprise that in both photos I'm carrying my very favorite purse, a velvet tapestry bag from an antique mall last summer.  Oh, and apparently I like t-strap shoes and patterned tights.

I honestly didn't realize until I had already uploaded the photos that I wore this dress in my last outfit post.  It's relatively new, a 1950s dress that came from an estate buy this summer.  You can't really see it in the photos, but it's a sheer-ish voile, with pintucks on the bodice.  So yes--a closet way too full of vintage dresses, and I wear the same thing again and again.

Also, what you can't see very well on November Me is my new necklace from ThatOldBlueHouse2 on Etsy, so I took another picture of it.  Lisa uses vintage lace, fabrics, buttons, and marbles to make her jewelry.  I'd been wanting one of her lace necklaces for ages, but I fell in love with the trim she used for this one and had to have it!  It's gorgeous and so well made.  [And I've now edited this post to show the necklace correct side forward!]

I promise--the next outfit post will have me in something new.  Well, new-to-me.

xo

K

thrift dog

A dog and her boy.

A dog and her girl.

The girl's outfit.  1960s plaid dress and Isaac Mizrahi for Target herringbone tweed flats.

These have probably been on the blog before.  They're one of my favorite, most-worn pairs of shoes, and for a cheap-o Target buy they've held up amazingly well.  The occasion for these photos was a little long-overdue thrift trip we took over the weekend.  Lucy and I were both excited to get out of the house and on the road.  I never find 1940s dresses while thrifting, but there's this one store where I've found them two or three times now--and this trip did not disappoint!  You'll see it in the shop soon.

xo

K

mix and match?

With apologies to Lauren of Dear Golden, whose "Maybe an outfit?" posts I love, I bring you the first (and maybe only) Small Earth Vintage "mix and match?" I could probably spend a goodly amount of time going through the shop and finding things that I think go together--and maybe I'll do it again someday--but for now, just this one. I was inspired when I saw that seersucker skirt and those red espadrilles together.

1970s red espadrille wedges

1950s seersucker skirt

1950s golden bow sweater

xo

K