Prairie Style

Did you guys do any Black Friday shopping?  I definitely did.  Last year was my first time, and I guess I enjoyed it because this year I went back again.  Last year I did the whole 4am thing, but this year I decided that unless you want one of those limited big-ticket doorbuster items, there's no need to be there at that time.  I slept in, and around 8:00am my mom and I trekked off to the local JC Penney store.

Prairie-inspired collage via here

So what did I buy?  Clothes, of course!  One of my favorite looks from the runways is what I'm calling "the prairie look."  I LOVE what the Mulleavy sisters did for Rodarte Fall 2011 RTW (with clothes inspired by one of my favorite films, Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven) as well as Anna Sui's Spring 2011 RTW.  (Her collection was also inspired by the same film.  Seriously, if you haven't seen it yet, you should; Days of Heaven is one of the most beautiful films, cinematography-wise, I've ever seen.)


Yesterday my sister and I went to the dog park with her two cute Papillon puppies.  Here's my take on the prairie style:

Prairie Dress: JC Penney, purchased on Black Friday
Duster sweater: Simply Vera Vera Wang for Kohl's, purchased on Black Friday
Riding Boots: vintage

And here's the handsome little Cole Bear.  Isn't he a cutie?

She Makes Even Winter Look Good

Discovered via Anja, this cute Polish girl knows how to dress for all seasons.  Now, where can I find a super-wide chunky scarf?

Mark Twain on Developing a Writing Style (i.e., Read!!!)

"Let us guess that whenever we read a sentence & like it, we unconsciously store it away in our model-chamber; & it goes, with the myriad of its fellows, to the building, brick by brick, of the eventual edifice which we call our style."

~Mark Twain in a letter to George Bainton, October 15, 1888

I'm a Sucker For...

I really love the whole I'm-a-nomad/I-just-arrived-from-the-steppes-of-Mongolia look.  Pile on the colorful layers of knitted items, throw in some chunky jewelry, and tie your hair in multi-fishtail braids, and you'll find me completely on board.  I'm still figuring out how to rock this look (so you won't be seeing it on me anytime soon), but I am completely smitten.  


And, yes, I *love* the red hair, too.

The pics below are from the Free People Holiday 2010 Catalog.

Fall 2010 Fantasy Shopping on the Internet

1. I'm still craving a fisherman sweater. This cardigan would be equally dashing thrown over a floral dress or paired with jeans.
2. A simple white blouse with a bow. Love it!
3. I'm really in the mood for a jumper. This one fits the bill nicely.
4. I saw these jeans online and immediately was smitten.
5. Way too expensive for me, but oh! a girl can dream, can't she?
6. Classic and sophisticated with a touch of retro appeal (in wool!).
7. I'm obsessed with velvet this season, and particularly like this mauve-colored blazer.
8. Ditto on lace.  I think fall's best offerings are in velvet and lace this year.
9. How pretty is this cape?!? I love the plaid.
10. The quintessential party shoes. Wouldn't they look divine with some of these dresses?
11. I want to add a tweed jacket to my closet. Elbow pads are required.

Denim Shorts and Tights

I have spent the last six months living in a college town where the fashions leave something to be desired. All along the Main Street that is the center of our town are shops that sell cute and fashionable clothing. One wonders, though, how these stay in business, as most college students here seem to be quite happy to trudge along to class in oversized t-shirts/sweatshirts, jeans, and flip-flops or Uggs (depending upon the season). It's an eyesore!


I have been having a hard time adjusting to being here after having lived in some of the world's most fashionable cities (New York, Paris, Dubai, and Cape Town to name a few). I would like to think that I have toned things down, yet most days my outfit choices seem to elicit at least a few comments. I think of Vixen Vintage's post complaining about how everyone makes insipid comments about how she's dressed (her style, IMHO, is lovely!). She must have struck a chord as 90 people have commented so far, commiserating with her.


All that to say: this is what I wanted to wear to work today (pieced together via polyvore.com)

I really love the denim-with-tights-look that seems to be in right now.


This is what I wore instead :( Not nearly as fun, but safer :)

White Knit Top: H&M 
White Tank with Spaghetti Straps: ??? 
Jeans: Delia's, Taylor fit 
Boots: from a vintage shop in Brooklyn

Vanity Fair October 2010

I haven't looked inside the magazine at all, but I am loving Lindsay Lohan's look on the cover of the current issue of Vanity Fair.  The retro-styling is divine (as is the color of that dress), and for once, Ms. Lohan looks classy.

XOXO,

Cracks (2009)

Yesterday while doing a Google image search for velvet dresses (my newest wish list item for my closet-- I'll post some inspiration pics later), I came across a picture of Eva Green in this new film.

Has anyone seen Cracks?  Apparently it came out in the UK last year, but I can't find if it has been released here.  It seems I am a sucker for movies set in the 1930's-- I imagine I would like anything set in that time period solely because of the glorious costumes, but throw in Ms. Green (whose face is just about perfect), an English countryside, and a bunch of schoolgirls, and I am completely sold.


Eva plays a school teacher at an English boarding school.  She's charismatic, enigmatic, and popular, but when a new student arrives, it seems to throw everyone into a tizzy.  The film trailer shows brooding girls traipsing through moors and floating in boats a la the Lady of Shalott.  I kept thinking of that other dark boarding school film, Picnic at Hanging Rock (which, by the way, I LOVED and highly recommend).


Well, if yesterday's post was dedicated to styles of the 1920's, then today's is dedicated to the 1930's.  Here are some screen shots to whet your appetite for the film.  If anyone has any info of when it will be playing here in the States, will you please let me know?

XOXO,