Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Vintage Beauty Ads



I love vintage make-up and beauty advertisements. I especially love the Max Factor ads from the early fifties featuring stars of that era. I am obsessed with the script font that Max Factor used for all of its ads. I have Yvonne de Carlo and Betty Hutton hanging in my bathroom for inspiration.






















Thursday, March 25, 2010

Papa Don't Preach


Outfit inspiration from Madonna. Perfect Breton shirt, jeans, flats and leather jacket. Love the song too!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Little Lucky Strikes and Tiny Martinis


I am loving these Mad Men dolls by Mattel. They will be available in July.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tomorrow Is A Hat Day

I have been a fan of Eugenia Kim for years. Her hat designs are whimsical yet totally practical and have made wearing hats fun again. A few years ago I picked up her book "Saturday Night Hat". It has really fun and easy hat designs that can all be made pretty quickly. The styles range from vintage inspired wedding veils to adorable mini berets. My favorite is the felt haircut hat. I can't think of a better way to hide a bad trip to the salon.









I am super excited that Eugenia Kim is teaming up with Target for a Spring 2010 collaboration inspired by Old Cuba. On April 18, this straw fedora with the adorable green parrot will be mine. You gotta love Target for bringing us high fashion at affordable prices!






Monday, March 15, 2010

Spring Forward


On this rainy Sunday in the middle of March, we put on our boots and headed outside to do some cleaning and digging.

Check out these muddy boots.


This bed will be my asparagus patch. It takes a couple of years for it to grow, but then it produces asparagus for twenty years! Amazing.



Some cabbages and kale survived in the raised beds despite the heavy winter snows.



I ordered some seeds for early Spring planting.




Then we warmed up with this delicious carrot soup recipe that everyone loves, even my older daughter.



Yum!





Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Breton Shirts and Chelsea Boots

My latest obsession is the Breton shirt, which was the original French sailor uniform from as long ago as 1858. The shirt was transformed from working class uniform to fashionable sportswear with the help of Coco Chanel. It is now an iconic and chic way to add Parisian flair to any Spring wardrobe. It is also easy to style in very different ways. From nautical Preppy to edgy Punk, it is truly one of the most versatile pieces you can have in your closet. I like to pair it with Chelsea boots, another iconic fashion item, and orange-red nails and lips. Tres chic!
Both of these striped shirts are from Bloomingdales. The top one is by Armorlux and the bottom more fitted version is by Aqua. Available at bloomingdales.com.
These are my favorite Chelsea boots by Jeffrey Campbell. They make a great every day boot and look amazing with skirts and cropped pants. You can buy them at Bonadrag.com.
My favorite orange-reds. Kat Von D lipstick in A go-go and OPI polish in Bet it all on OPI.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Style Inspiration: My Mother



My mom has always been a source of inspiration for me. From her ever changing hair-dos to her love of beautiful clothes, she taught me everything I needed to know about personal style. Here are some of my favorite photos of her and a couple of my dad too.

























Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Baby, It's Still Cold Outside


The winter here is dragging on with no signs of Spring yet. It has been particularly snowy this year and a hat is definitely needed. Luckily, one of my favorite cold weather accessories is a cute vintage inspired hat.








I found an adorable pattern for a snowy day hat here and made a couple for the girls, using my very novice knitting skills.











Another one of my favorites is this vintage looking headband that I found a few years ago at Free People. My daughter wore it with a 1940's skating outfit for our Christmas picture.




Hopefully warmer weather is on the way, but until then we will be keeping our ears warm with our favorite retro hats.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Style Inspiration: Favorite Females of Film

Sally Bowles in "Cabaret". The black bob, green fingernails, red lips, perfect twenties boudoir costumes and Liza's lashes. Divine.


Muriel Pritchett from "The Accidental Tourist". A far less likely style inspiration, Muriel is a quirky dog trainer who favors thrift store ensembles. She made me want to move to Baltimore and wear ankle socks.


Cecil Mills from "The Baxter". Michelle Williams plays a shy and sensitive struggling singer in this funny Michael Showalter film. Her vintage wardrobe and bobbed hair suit her awkward character perfectly.





















Wanda Woodward from "Cry Baby". The baby bangs, winged eyeliner, pencil skirts and Traci Lords! Perfection.








Corinne Burns from "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains". A young Diane Lane forms an all girl punk band with her sister and cousin in this killer 80's film. Her style is so infectious that all of her fans dress like her and call themselves "skunks". If I had seen this movie when I was a teenager, I probably would have run away from home and joined a band. Since that is no longer an option, I'll settle for red ankle boots and some serious eyeliner.