Bows and Bandits

For my latest post on World Ugly I'm investigating the dirndl dress. When I was little my family lived in Germany for a few years and for some reason or another my mother thought it fit to dress us all in dirndl dresses, complete with frilled white blouses and socks. With runways from Miu Miu to Anna Sui taking inspiration from the dirndl I decided to get my hands on one.
The vintage originals can be hard to track down, but are worth the hunt with their beautiful embroidered details and quality fabric. Thankfully, Bows and Bandits is fully stocked with gorgeous dirndl dresses in a variety of colors and sizes, which takes a lot of drama out of the hunt.
For its first outing I donned the dirndl dress backwards, which takes out the Oktoberfest vibe of the dress.

Outfit details: dress- vintage courtesy of Bows and Bandits, belt- secondhand, shoes- Urban Outfitters
I pulled out one of my coziest sweaters for a cooler day and headed down to the closest seashore for a bit of release. The rhythmic sound of the waves lapping against the rocky shore is the most soothing one I know and while it isn't the most beautiful beach I have ever seen, I am so grateful to live near the water...

Outfit details: cardigan- Urban Outfitters, necklace- Stadium Swapmeet, dress- Urban Outfitters, shoes- Bona Drag, nail polish- Sephora

It's All Greek To Me

Some readers might recall I spent a semester in Athens, Greece last fall. One of the things I really enjoyed about that city was the beautiful streetart that I would pass on my walk to school or in those little neighbors near my apartment that I would get lost in. I recently came across these creations by a Greek street-artist in Athens and they're taking me back. Of all the forms graffiti takes, these little nautical girls might just be the cutest.

via Wooster Collective more here

Sly As Serpents, Harmless As Doves

It has been a fairly interesting weekend: took the LSAT, hunted through massive Antique Malls, and stumbled over snakes on twisting dirt roads. The golden summer is winding to an end and I am attempting to mentally prepare myself for a Washington State fall and winter...

Outfit details: feather fascinator- vintage, dress- vintage, vest- H&M, necklace- Yellowstone National Park gift shop, shoes- Urban Outfitters
P.S. I wrote a little article breaking-down the trend of mixed prints with some ideas on how to wear it for Weardrobe. You can read it here and look forward to other such articles in the future from different members of the Weardrobe community!

Dear Creatures Tote Giveaway

Through a random sequence of events I have found myself the possessor of two Ship Shape Totes by Dear Creatures from Modcloth. I'm a big fan of tote bags since I never seem able to leave the house without wanting to carry all my essentials around rather like a turtle.

These particular totes feature a quirky nautical theme featuring Viking-esque ships in easy to mix 'n match neutrals. While I can easily see myself using both of these, my current stock of totes is anything but lacking; so I'm offering both up as giveaways. I will draw two winners and fill them with some small goodies for each winner.

To keep things interesting, if you would like to win: leave a comment below telling me what you tend to "tote" around with you in your bag/purse/satchel/enormous pockets! The winners will be drawn on 10/3/09.
P.S. Forgot to mention this, but yes, open to international readers!

Even With The Lights Out We'll Glow

These photographs by Ella Manor seem to be playing with the same colors and elements I enjoyed in the Proenza Schouler collection and are even reminiscent of my recent post on light art. All these cool blue tones with flashes of neon are making me wish I lived in a subterranean world and depended upon glow sticks for light...

via Ella Manor Photography

Ruffle My Feathers

I build my outfits from a single piece; starting with the item I want to wear on that day and pulling other things from there. This outfit was began with my new vintage feather fascinator. I wanted to build off the various warm colors and actually ended up with a very neutral outfit for me. Black, browns, and a small dash of blue and yellow? This is quite different from my usual mad clash of colors.

Outfit details: feather fascinator- vintage, dress- Urban Outfitters, vest- H&M, shoes- Seychelles, bag- Pull and Bear, talon necklace- Talonalia, necklace- Yellowstone National Park gift shop

Coleoptera

My favorite collection of Spring 2010 NYFW has been Proenza Schouler. The strategic flashes of neon, the mature interpretation of tie-dye, and the similarities to iridescent beetles, all wooed me like an overzealous beau...besides I already have a love affair with neon yellow.

pics via Style.com, collages by me

Freedom Or Confusion

"Artists sense within their own work that kind of swelling of possibilities, which may seem a freedom or confusion." -Jasper Johns
If you haven't noticed yet, may I announce: I like color. It is one of the main elements of my style; color and mixing different ones in new ways. While blue is still my favorite color and used to dominate my wardrobe, green has slowly been worming its way into my outfits.
Now with this newish H&M dress (seen first here) and the Tulle coat in this post, I predict a very green fall...

details: tights- Fred Flare, fascinator- vintage, belt- secondhand, shoes- Nine West

coat- Tulle via Fred Flare, scarf- YarnOverMovement, tights- We Love Colors via swap with Calivintage, shoes- Seychelles

fascinator- vintage, jacket- Kimchi and Blue via Weardrobe Swap, shoes- Urban Outfitters

vest- gift from my sisters, shoes- Seychelles

belt- self made, socks- Thank You Mart, shoes- Seychelles from my sisters

belt- vintage, skirt- secondhand, shoes- Dr. Scholls

Will-O-The-Wisps

These images of light art from LAPP (Light Art Performance Photography) are blowing me away. The site offers a variety of beautiful and original light art creations, but I find the juxtaposition of these sleek, modern globes with breathtaking natural and historic-seeming backgrounds especially stunning.
They remind me of the legends of will-o-the-wisps or ghostly lights that would lead hapless wanderers astray in folk lore. They seem magical and out of place in their surroundings...and yet, I see so many references to history, fairy tales, and new more modern legends...

via LAPP

P.S. The winner of the Talonalia giveaway is Diane of Darling Darling. Congrats Diane! Better luck next time to everyone else.