i shopped for you

Did you get any Christmas money this year?  I did, and though I'll probably use it toward a little trip somewhere, it didn't stop me from doing some fantasy shopping on Etsy.  And because I'm such a nice person and couldn't afford to buy all these things (even if they were all my size, which they aren't), I thought I'd share them with you.  

Keeping track of these finds was made a little easier than usual due to my signing up with Pinterest.  Pinterest is, basically, an internet-based inspiration board.  You can follow me there at this link.

  

Gorgeous 1950s brown party dress / SwaneeGRACE

Buffalo check wool coat / stonecoldvintage

1960s dress with satin collar / DearGoldenVintage

Pringle 1950s wool plaid sweater / PomegranateVintage

1970s stack heel oxfords / IveGoneModVintage

Charmingly macabre mouse requiem locket / shopfeverfew

Danish modern teak ice bucket / thecircamodern

Framed Scottie painting / jbyjosephine

Danish modern teak duck / luola

Victorian steamer trunk wall art / Canal-Side Studio

xo

K 

The Illusionist

In my holiday movie reviews post I mentioned how much I loved The Illusionist (L'Illusionniste).  It's utterly gorgeous to look at; it's the type of animation art that puts anything Pixar to shame.  (Apparently, The Illusionist lost the Oscar to Toy Story 3.  I haven't seen Toy Story 3, nor will I, but I can't imagine that it approaches the beauty of this movie.)  The Illusionist is set mainly in Edinburgh, with a few scenes in the highlands of Scotland, and in Paris and London.  There are great interiors, in theaters, pubs, and a hotel, but it's the outdoor views of rainy, foggy, nighttime Edinburgh that I particularly fell for.  Here's a whole mess of screenshots I took that will show you what I'm talking about.

xo

K

sheep to chevrons

A little shop update with a cute novelty sheep sweater, some great jackets, a perfect 1940s black dress, and a fab jeweltone chevron stripe skirt--all coming to the shop shortly!

Novelty black sheep sweater.

1960s green and gold plaid wool fitted jacket, by John Meyer of Norwich.

1970s kelly green Izod shirt dress, by David Crystal.

1950s blue plaid kilt, by Mode O'Day.

1970s space dyed snowflake cardigan.

1940s black crepe dress with illusion neckline, by Terri Green.

1950s jade green cardigan.

1960s rococo print dress, by Anika.

1970s pleated wool chevron stripe skirt.

1940s gabardine jacket with velvet collar, by Moordale.

xo

K

december inspirations

December seemed to fly by, yet I still found time to be inspired by these beautiful images.  I obviously want to go live in an old Swedish farmhouse--this isn't the first one to show up on my radar.  (If you like what you see here, you might also want to follow my Tumblr.)

1. London street style. (The Streethearts)

2. Gorgeous, only slightly renovated, 1920s farmhouse in Osterlen, Sweden. (Quite Continental)

3. British Sea-Fishermen book cover. (emerging artist2008)

4. Olive green velvet coat, Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2012. (RDuJour)

5. A group of skiers at Mt. Kosciusko, circa 1932. (New South Wales State Library)

6. Anchor button. (blue water / black heart)

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 

i sky dive in some sky blue ferragamos

That's actually a Wu-Tang Clan lyric: "Burst of adrenaline, bungee jumped off the Verrazano/I sky dive in some sky blue Ferragamos."  I'm not cool enough to have just known that; I had to use the Google.

No sky blue Ferragamos here--but there is an olive green, gray, and snakeskin pair.  Also, this shop preview has the return of hats in kind of a big way with a fancy Pierre Balmain fur number.

Ferragamo alligator skin bow flats (in the shop now).

1940s white perforated oxfords by Dr. Hiss.

1970s brown stack heel boots.

1970s navy blue perforated t-straps.

1970s wooden high heel sandals.

1980s Ferragamo olive, gray, and snakeskin pumps.

1970s Dexter kiltie bow flats.

1950s Pierre Balmain fur hat.

1950s velvet cocktail hat with bows and sequins.

1960s black velvet and gold tapestry turban hat, by Mr. John.

Olive green tooled leather handbag.

1970s International Imperial stoneware Cortina lidded sauce pot.

xo

K