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

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

street peeped!

Photo by Phil Oh/Street Peeper

Most mornings I like to peek at a few street style sites.  One that I never miss is Street Peeper, which features stylish folk from all over:  NYC, London, Paris, Chicago, Tokyo.  Imagine my excitement when I peeped Street Peeper this morning and saw my dress--well, a dress I sold--featured!  It's worn by blogger Ann Somma of Holier Than Now.  The dress is from the 1960s and is by Johnnye Jr.

Here's my product shot--not nearly as fun and exciting as seeing it on a real live lovely person in NYC!

Thanks to Ann for buying and wearing the dress--and to Street Peeper for featuring Ann in it!  You gave this little ole Michigan vintage seller quite a thrill.

xo

K

fruit of the loom

When I hear "Fruit of the Loom" I think of guys in apple and grape costumes, selling men's underwear on TV.  But Fruit of the Loom also made cute dresses back in the day, like this 1950s floral print day dress.  (I don't know what's up with the weird light in this photo.  Andy wanted to take the photo here because of the pretty backdrop.)  I'm also wearing a vintage pink moonglow bracelet, and a less-vintage red plastic rose bead Tarina Tarantino bracelet.

You can see the print and details a bit better here, though I took the below photos in my living room this morning, in the dim light of an overcast sky, so they also aren't ideal.

xo
K

pink gin, pride fest, pinball, pups, and prints

I am trying to get back into the work groove after an enormously fun weekend spent with my best buddies--Stephani, who was visiting us for the weekend, and Andy.

And Lucy, of course.  We took her to Grand Rapids' Pride Fest, where she roundly ignored all the cute little dogs who wanted to get to know her.

It was a weekend of badminton, gin & tonics with bitters, floating on the lake in our new inner tubes (which are silly huge and awesome), duck nachos at Brewery Vivant, and pinball at the Pyramid Scheme.  And I wore my new 1950s Egyptian print cotton dress, which I love, but which I think I might be letting go shortly, as it's just a bit too big in the bodice for me.

It makes me a little sad because I love the print, the piping, and the funky neckline, but I can't keep everything.  Much as I'd like to.

I hope your weekends were fun and relaxing!

xo

K

swirl girl

This 1950s ballerina print Swirl dress was an exciting recent find. Even more exciting was discovering that it fit me! I love the wide, lattice-trimmed portrait collar. And though ballerinas aren't really my thing, I can forgive the print because it's on a black background (enlarge photo below to see print more clearly).

I wore this on date night last Thursday. Andy and I went downtown to play some pinball, have dinner, and see the Kent County String Band.

A few downtown GRR sights, including some stencil graffiti...

Love the lions on this building, which was built in 1910.

Squirrel!

Andy, looking a little angsty because I kept beating him at pinball.

xo

K