31 January 2012

Steven Alan

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So, speaking of the Steven Alan collection, here are all of my favorites.  Some of these are serious summer perfection.  I'll definitely be stalking the site all season for the first sign of a sale. 

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30 January 2012

Alex Katz

Grey Art Gallery

I remember reading a while back that the paintings of Alex Katz were a big influence on the spring collection from Steven Alan.  I wasn't familiar with the painter so I set about trying to find out a bit about him.  What I discovered are these cheerfully colored painting depicting scenes from what looks like a pretty great summer vacation (despite the melancholy look on the subjects faces).  I sort of want to tell everyone, "Cheer up!  It's summertime!" 

I can definitely see the influence on the colors of the Steven Alan collection although the brighter colored pieces aren't my favorites.  I tend to like the muted colors better.  But looking at these paintings does make me want to take a summer vacation that includes laying on the beach with friends and rowing in a canoe and wearing pretty much everything from the Steven Alan Collection. 

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26 January 2012

Photography: Aubin & Wills

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The lifestyle photography of Aubin & Wills is making me excited for a couple of things.  One is slightly warmer days that call for light jackets and bare legs.  I don't need spring to come quite yet, but a little sunshine would do this girl some good.  The other is some upcoming travels that Tom and I have been busy planning as we've been stuck inside this winter.  There's one more important thing that I have to line up before I can talk about it without feeling like I'm jinxing the whole thing. I'm also working on a post about packing for long trips when you have very limited space.  I spy a few things in this shop I wouldn't mind having in my bag.  Like this striped dress or this pretty collared one

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24 January 2012

Edith A. Miller

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You would think the search for the perfect striped shirt would be an easy thing to conquer.  I have found the opposite to be true.  Every one I've found has ended up failing me in one way or another... too big, too short, shrinks too much, colors bleed, seams twist.  It's always something.  Lately the name Edith A. Miller keeps popping up on seemingly perfect examples of the elusive striped shirt.  I decided to do a little investigating and discovered that the shirts are made right here in the United States... in Pennsylvania... in a mill less than 30 miles from my house!  It's a small world, eh?  The mill, which has a history dating back more than 100 years, is one of the few remaining historic American knitting mills.  I think the fact that these shirts are coming from a small, family run mill makes me even more interested in them. 

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23 January 2012

Madewell in Black & White

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Don't adjust your screen!  The Madewell spring lookbook is here and it's in pure black and white.  As usual, I pretty much love everything.  Madewell is definitely a reflection of my style on most non-fancy days.  That first striped dress has my name written all over it, I just have to decide which color I like best.  And those sandals!  If only four inch heels were practical to walk around in every day. Oh, and my apologies to the model... for some reason the screen grabs made her face look a bit wonky at times.  I'm sure she's quite lovely looking without the slightest bit of wonkiness in real life. 



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22 January 2012

Sponsor Sally Jane Vintage

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I've update my sponsorship program for the new year!  I'll now be featuring one size banner that is small-business friendly, with affordable monthly rates.  Packages for multiples months are available at discounted rates.  Take a peek at the sidebar to see the new size.  If you'd like more information, please feel free to email me. 

20 January 2012

Etsy Update: Be My Valentine

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gridlines dress... nouveau floral dress... windowpane plaid dress

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scarlet striped knit top ... snow blossoms cardigan ... salmon knit cardigan

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painter's print dress ... cranberry mini dress ... raspberry pintuck dress

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classic plaid skirt ... plum cashmere skirt ... merlot pleated skirt

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18 January 2012

Karen Walker & Anthropologie

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I swore I wasn't going to go down this road yet, but the spring collections keep falling in my lap and I have no will power when it comes to not looking at them.  Here's another one that has me excited about the coming season.  I don't usually get excited about designer collaborations.  The H&M ones and Target GO lines pretty much pass by unnoticed but this one, between Karen Walker and Anthropologie is calling my name.  I'm very curious to see what the "lower" price point will be.  Pretty sundresses with a 40s vibe in patriotic colors just scream summertime to me.  Whoa, did I just jump ahead to summer?  Sorry, I can't help myself! 

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17 January 2012

First Rite

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I've just discovered the San Francisco based clothing line First Rite. I like the neutral color palette and the pieces all seem like they would be comfy and easy to wear.  The designer, Nikki Garcia is originally from Montana and I can definitely see some of the ruggedness you would expect to encounter in Montana in the presentation of these pieces.  You can peek inside her studio in this R29 feature.  And besides, I can't knock anyone who lets an awesome kitty hang out for their photoshoot! 

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13 January 2012

Orla Kiely

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It's finally starting to feel like winter around here, and I'm just beginning to think about spring.  Perfect, right?  And you know what spring means?  New collections to ogle.  And I don't think anyone proves more ogle-worthy year after year than Orla Kiely.  Man, she really nails it season after season.  Dresses pulled right out of my head!  I love this pre-spring collection and I can't wait to see the summer and Olive & Orange collections too. 

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12 January 2012

Sounds of the Woods


Sounds of the Woods - Nadinoo AW11 Film from WishWishWish on Vimeo.

I just adore this video featuring the work of a few of my favorite bloggers;  Nadia from Nadinoo's lovely clothes, Carrie from WishWishWish's keen eye for directing and the beautiful Rosalind from Clothes, Cameras & Coffee modeling.  The result is a mesmerizing video that makes me want to get lost in the forest with the characters from the Nadinoo collection.

Watching this reminds me that Pixie's Bird-A-Day shirt is on its way to me from over the pond.  So excited! I can't wait to pair with high waisted shorts or under sleeveless jumpers.  I'm a sucker for all things bird-print-related so this was a perfect match for me.  And I love the story about how the print came about:

Ornithology Liberty Print was designed from sketches by Edwyn Collins, who was best known for fronting Scottish rock revivalists Orange Juice. In 2005 Edwyn suffered a severe cerebral haemorrhage that he took six months to recover from. As part of his rehabilitation he drew a bird a day, like a sketchbook on fabric complete with names of birds and dates when they were drawn.  (from the Nadinoo site).

10 January 2012

Dear Creatures Spring 2012


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This morning an email landed in my inbox from Refinery 29 about new haircuts for spring, specifically noting the "pixie" cut as seen above.  Truth be told, I had that haircut circa 1992.  It wasn't the haircut that caught my eye, but that navy sailor dress.  I clicked through to the article hoping it would give me some clue as to where that dress might be found.  I was so excited when the photo credit led to the Dear Creatures site.  That means the dress will be mine, all mine!  Cue evil laugh!  Mwah-ha-ha!

A little further sleuthing led me to behind-the-scenes photos to the first ever runway show for a Dear Creatures collection.  I haven't really thought much about spring yet, but these looks might start that ball rolling.  Tom and I have an exciting trip planned for late spring (more about that later) and I've already starting packing in my head.  I see several things here that I would love to sneak into my suitcase (or backpack as the case may be). 

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09 January 2012

Date Night

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 - Dear Creatures dress
 - old Gap sweater
 - ASOS duffle coat
 - vintage scarf & wool beret
 - H&M tights & socks

On Friday night Tom and I went on an honest to goodness date.  Dinner, entertainment, drinks!  It was a lot of fun since we don't get to do that much anymore.  All I was told in advance was to dress warm and be ready to leave the house at 6:00.  Fun, right?  We started the evening off at dinner at our favorite pho soup place, Rice & Noodles.  That place is always perfect for dinner on a cold night.

After dinner we headed to Clipper Stadium where they've turned the outfield into a skating rink.  It's been such a mild winter I think this was one of the first nights they were able to use the ice.  I've only been ice skating a handful of times in my life but I grew up with a pair of roller skates strapped to my feet so I managed to make it through the night without falling.  I honestly don't know how anyone is able to jump and spin and land on the ice! 

Once our legs felt like they were going to fall off we stopped in at The Fridge for fancy beers.  The place has hundreds of domestic craft beets to choose from and I probably stood in front of the cooler for way too long trying to pick just one.  Of course I ended up with some sort of Belgium style blonde which is always my favorite. Yum! 

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06 January 2012

Christina

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I was doing a little internet research on autochromes and sort of felt like I'd fallen down the rabbit hole.  There are so many sites and so much information it can be a bit overwhelming.  I know back in the infancy of the blog (way back in '08!) I did a blog post about autochromes based on the Belgian Autochromists site.  If you haven't fallen down that rabbit hole before, I highly recommend it. But since then nary a word about them so I thought it was high time that I shared by favorite collection of autochromes in case you hadn't seem them before. 

The images were captured by Lieutenant Colonel Mervyn O’Gorman, a distinguised Aeronautical engineer, of his daughter Christina at and near Lulworth Cove in Dorset, in 1913.  Don't they look like they could be right out of a modern day editorial?

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05 January 2012

1928 DIY

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I didn't make any New Year's resolutions for this year, but if I had, one would probably have been to make more things by hand.  More DIY!  I got a little head start at the end of last year by making some Christmas decorations for our tree;  yarn-ball ones and salt dough ornaments like these.  It was pretty satisfying to create something from scratch for the first time in quite a while, even though the salt dough ornaments were a bit of a fail.  I learned from my mistakes and they'll be better next time! 

Tom sent me the images from this Le Page's Craft Creations in the Modern Manner as a bit of inspiration for my DIY cravings.  Of course, I don't think he wants me to start covering everything in the house with pretty, patterned paper.  Here's a bit about Le Page's from the Daily Heller:

The Russia Cement Co., manufacturers of LePage's Glue in Gloucester, Mass., was known for publishing craft books. "Over a million women have bought LePage's Craft Books, which have shown them how to make useful, practical, attractive gifts with the help of LePage's Glue -- the money-saving, handy mender." Craft Creations helped the housewife transform the commonplace into the extraordinary. "You will find in making these articles that your handiest tool is your old mending friend LePage's Glue."  In those days products were not just brands, they were "friends."

Shown here are ways of antiquing, applying aluminum leaf, and other decoupage details to foot stools, cupboards, desk sets, book shelves, mirror frames, clothes hampers, boudoir boxes, kitchen spice shelves, serving trays and card tables. There is even a bench affixed with a map of New York City.  LePage's was essential to the modern home, even though the packaging was very nineteenth century. 

"More than one woman has written, 'I do not know how I could keep house without LePage's.'"


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04 January 2012

Etsy Update: For the New Year

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olive plaid dress ... cocoa knit dress ... greta corduroy dress

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geometry lessons dress ... carnival stripe dress ... houndstooth illusion dress

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mossy plaid dress ... eleanor plaid wool dress ... forest mod dress

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slate wool & fur coat ... collegian wool coat ... logan short trench coat

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midnight belted dress ... silver metal dress ... betty wool sailor dress

02 January 2012

Something Else

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I was doing a little post holiday online window shopping and saw some things on the Madewell site that I really like (surprise, surprise).  I noticed a couple of the pieces were made by an Australian line called Something Else by Natalie Wood.  Madewell's description says the label takes cues from nature, art and 70s bohemia.  Sounds just about perfect to me!  I decided to check out their site to see more. 

The winter collection is full of blues and greys and blacks with subtle patterns.  I think I love everything except for the shoes.  Sorry, but the shoes are bad.  Next I looked at the spring collection and it's the first thing I've seen that actually made me almost wish it was almost spring.  Almost.  I like the pale pink dresses balanced with the black pieces.  And then next is the summer collection, which includes some of the pieces I saw on Madewell.  Polka dot chambray?  Yes, please! 

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