Yellow There!

So, it's taken me a while to get into Colour Lovers, but now that I have I can honestly say that I love it almost as much as I love the color yellow.  What an underrated color with occasionally negative connotations (yellow fever, yellow journalism, mellow yellow)!!  Here's my palette of yellow and violet.  Adding violet to the mix tones down the intensity of the yellow in the same way that black does without being so bee-like.

I recently got this scarf from Target and I love it.  It's very soft and warm, and it brightens up my darker winter clothes with an autumnal pop of color.  At the same time it's not too overtly feminine and I really like that. 

These are some great yellow flats from Urban Outfitters, but I actually got this pair at Gabriel Brothers for $6.99.  They are a great departure from my everyday black flats.  And finally, the coup de grace of my yellow collection:

I found this gem at Blue Ridge Hospice in Purcellville, and it appears to be handmade in the early '60s (I would guess).  It fits like a dream and it only cost $12!  After some minor repairs it is ready to hit the bar tonight.   Here's a close up on the bow detail:

What's your favorite color to wear in fall accessories?  Is there one hue that makes you feel like a million bucks?  Any great vintage finds?  Let us know!

Showing off the limbs: Tight Style.

I have seriously been slacking on my posting lately….I drove all the way to Nashville to the opening of a show I had I piece in and then I got my debit card number stolen.  Not that it’s an excuse.  I missed you and I’m back.  With some awesome accessories. 

These tights from the Suicidal Shop are seriously to die for.  I love the edgy prints on them, and they would be a perfect pairing for a solid mini dress or a geometric patterned shirt.  Now how does one use a credit card to pay in euros? 

We Love Today: Mad Men!

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Few shows made in recent memory are as visually stunning as Mad Men.  I have become completely addicted to it thanks to my boyfriend's roommate and musical co-conspirator Michael.  I love that the clothing portrays so accurately the attributes of each character and that each character seems painstakingly composed into every shot.  Also, it harkens back to a time when getting dressed was more like playing dress up, and I am whole-heartedly dedicated to having this sort of fun all the time.  

Thankfully, Banana Republic seized the opportunity to cash in on this craze.  They have recently released their Mad Men Collection, so you can purchase a piece of postwar style. 

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If you’re like me, then you might be able to afford one or two pieces from this collection. Luckily, the 60’s actually happened, and you can find vintage clothes at a fraction of the price, at Goodwill or on eBay.  (Make sure you take your bust, waist, and hip measurements and use them to gauge whether or not a piece will fit.  Sizes have changed over the years, so a 1960's size 10 is miles away from a 2011 one. Inches, however, have remained the same.)  Add some winged black eyeliner and some red lipstick and you’ll look good enough to actually drive someone mad.

Ciao ciao, 

The Best for Less

Ahh, fall is on the horizon.  The air is getting a little more crisp, Starbucks has busted out the pumpkin spice flavoring, and the stores are all tempting me with their fresh fall items.  It’s hard resisting the desire I have to blow my last paycheck of August on trendy fall accessories, but thanks to my devoted research I won’t have to.  And neither will you!  In this post I have found some popular summer to fall transitional pieces and have found similar but much less expensive alternatives. 

uo   target

This fancy floppy hat is $90.00 from Urban Outfitters, but Target’s take on it is a cool $16.99.

asos  ae

This awesome Aztec bag from ASOS was originally $64.03, but American Eagle offers a comparable option for only $29.50.

nastygal    target

These badass leopard wedges by Steve Madden via NASTY GAL break the bank at $158.00, but Target once again flatteringly imitates them at a much more manageable price of $29.99.

I hope that this guide has helped fuel your own desire to find fall trends on the cheap!  What other autumn accessories have you been able to find at seriously low prices?

Happy Hunting!

What We Wore: White Hot Colors.

While searching for inspiration on Vogue, I ran across a feature about fall’s bright and bold color palette. I had just bought these J Brand pants three days before and I must say I felt pretty fashion forward about the purchase.  

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Because the pants had a rip right above the knee they were only $3 (I bought them at Gabriel Brothers).  That’s right….three smackaroos!  You can’t get a soda at the movies for that! Clearly I’m still thrilled about it.  But it was a little but of an outfit-building challenge, since it required a relatively neutral colored top and the pants themselves were so funky to begin with. I was confident in buying them though because they took something that I already love (corduroys) and mixed in an upcoming trend.  This is a really good way to attempt to pull of something edgy, because it won’t take you too far out of your comfort zone.  At the same time, there's a certain undeniably bad ass feeling to wearing an atypical color on something that's typically neutral (such as cords).

Here’s the outfit I put together with the bright pants as the star of the show. Unfortunately my photo doesn’t do justice to their deep teal velvetiness, but I think you will get the gist of it.  The subtle leopard print top was a go-to for me all summer, and the gold studded suede shoes have just recently been recruited to the multitudes of my shoe army.

How do you pull off trends while remaining true to your personal style?

What fall trends are you excited about?

Color me rad,

 

Fashion for Less: Go Pluck Yourself!

Occasionally I consider small ways in which I can cut back my spending, and so far my tactics of not buying coffee on my way to work and trimming my own hair in between cuts have saved me a lot of cash.  Doing your own eyebrows is another way to cut back on routine beauty spending.  Although it’s affordable enough to get them waxed once and then tidy them up around the edges, it is also very simple to do it yourself from square one!

messy hair but good brows....

When I was younger my mom used to coerce me to go get my eyebrows waxed and I begrudgingly obliged.  Then I would just let them get all teen-wolf until she would drag me back to the salon.  I just really did not care.  But as I got older I realized the appeal of having lovely arched brows.  It was an important component to the vintage style I was slowly adopting.  So, I read up on the subject (I think in Seventeen sometime in high school and the beauty section of Border’s) and that knowledge plus my few years of experience is what I offer to you today. 

The most important thing about having beautiful brows is the shape.  This should be determined by the amount of plucking you do to the bottom of the brow.  Generally, I would say to avoid plucking the top other than to tidy it up, or else you’ll end up with a pencil thin line that looks cartoonish.  So how do you determine where to arch, the length, or the width? Well, if you hold up your tweezers (or in my illustration a red crayon) to your eye right at your tear duct and follow the line up, that’s a good place for them to start.  If yours are naturally a little more or less, that’s fine. This is a rough guideline and as long as you’re not into unibrow territory you have some leeway.

 

For the ending point hold the tweezers up to the angle of your lower eyelid like this:

That’s about where they should end. 

Now’s the part you’ve all been waiting for, the arch.  Do a similar move by putting the tweezers at the lower curve of your iris (the colored part of your eye) and that’s where the arch should begin.  Like so:

(Now, if you have a pretty straight across brow with little thinned out hairs on top it is helpful to take some powder and an angled brush and fill in those spaced out hairs to help create the angle you want before the next step.) 

Then carve out a triangle from the bottom to make the arch.  The idea is that the first part should be the thickest and then gradually thin out to the point at the end.  

What I like about this method is that it works on all different types of brows and on all different types of faces.  It doesn't create a uniform shape like some of the at-home waxing kit templates do, rather it allows the unique nature of the brows to remain in a more polished form.  

Soon, I'll post some photos of me putting this plan into action on people other than myself.

pleasant plucking!

Inspiration: Sizzlin' Southwestern Style

Sizzlin' Southwest Style by est1839 featuring pendant necklaces

I love this take on western style that incorporates navajo patterns muted natural colors.  It's totally different from the typical western prairie look, and those geometric patterns get me every time.  The style in general reminds me of the photos of Georgia O'Keeffe after she left New York to paint out west.  

Dreaming of the desert, 

We love today: A Taste of Your Own Medicine.

pepto nicki emma

It may seem like I’m talking about the sweet taste of revenge, but actually I’m referring to a trendy summer color palette for makeup and accessories that I have nicknamed “medicinal mod”.  Recently I have been noticing starlets sporting mint green, pepto-bismol pink, and bright yellow in subtle spots such as nails, lip color, and eyeshadow.  I think this is a pretty, yet daring trend and thanks to the popularity of this look it’s easy to find these beauty products for pennies at the drugstore.

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What thematic color palettes are you drawn to?  And whose styles inspire you?

Until next time, friends!

What We Wore: Job Interview!

What We Wore: Job Interview! by est1839 featuring leather shoes

So, today I went to DC to apply for the position of Objects Conservation Technician at the National Gallery of Art.  I'm not sure if I'll get it, because there were a lot of applicants.  However, I feel pretty good about it and I am sure that I made a good impression with my professional prowess in style as well as with my laboriously crafted portfolio.  I wore black pinstriped pants, a sheer ivory blouse, and black wedges.  The wedges (from Target) were commanding yet comfortable, and my shirt was breezy enough to keep me cool as I briskly walked down the National Mall.  What are some of your favorite professional pieces?  And how do you deal with the heat of the summer despite the need to stay covered?  We'd love to hear from you!
here's hoping!
Amy

Fashion for Less: Stunna Shades

Sunglasses....you need them.  Or at least I do.  Pretty much year-round I sport some crazy shades, but I never pay over five bucks for them. When you're as dedicated to frugal and eye-catching eye-wear as I am, you begin acquire a hit-list of places for cheap lenses.  My top three are Charlotte Russe, Big Lots, and Gabriel Brothers (or Rugged Wearhouse for those of you in the south). All of these places carry interesting frames that won't cost you more than the change that you can scrounge up from the floor of your car.  These are some of my current favorite styles, including classic wayfarers, bright colors and prints, architectural frames, and Jenni's favorite nudes.  

shades by est1839 featuring dark sunglasses

Weekly Inspiration: Nautical Necessities

Nautical Necessities by est1839 featuring a slouchy cardigan

In a previous post I mentioned my affinity for nautical summer style as opposed to, say, the surfer girl, pastel princess, hippie, or Daisy Duke.  Here are some ideas for crafting such a style.  It's a little more refined than your typical sun-dress, yet it still has a certain edge to it.
Smooth sailing!
Amy

We Love today: Frugal Feathered Finds

Lately I’ve noticed a lot of lovely ladies shaking their tail feathers. And by that I mean wearing feathers…in their hair, as earrings and in some daring cases sewn on as fringes.  The trend is really taking off (like a bird….okay, enough with the puns), and I wholeheartedly approve.  Recently, at the Delaplane Strawberry Festival, my friend Christi and I found some really cool feather earrings for 5 bucks from a craft vendor. 

I like them because they are just slightly longer than my hair and they match it too.  It makes it seem like if I could grow feathers, that’s the color they would be….and I’m not sure why, but that appeals to me. I also like that they fork off like a swallow’s tail.

Christi, in addition to these earrings from the festival, found some lovely blue clip-in feathers for her hair (at the Purple Fern in Winchester). Both items are an aqua blue hue that match her several bird tattoos.   It’s a really lovely thing when someone’s outer appearance matches their character, and Christi’s avian accessories just seem to complement her personality effortlessly.

These would also be simple and inexpensive to make on your own….I’ll roll that around in my head for a while and see if I can come up with something worth sharing!

Your fine feathered friend,

Amy

DIY: Getting in the Skein of Things- Knitted Summer Accessories for the Scarf Lover

Hi, my name is Amy and my favorite season is winter. This is a fact about me that seems to illicit strange looks from most people.  I just can't help but to love being able to completely cover my body in as much fabric as possible, and sadly this is just not practical in the summer months.  Especially not this week, with highs in the mid-nineties.  Despite this, I was suddenly inspired this weekend to pick back up one of my most beloved winter pastimes: knitting! This came about because one of my good friends (who happens to be studying fibers at JMU) made an awesome electric blue crocheted necklace that somehow beautifully and gracefully captured her refined DIY aesthetic.  She made a long single strand (I’m talking really long) and then wound it around her neck to create a many-layered necklace.  It has all the soft cuddliness of a scarf with none of the heat.  It looked something like this, although this is a version my mom and I recreated for you guys out of some olive drab yarn I had laying around.

I also decided to make my own design for a necklace by knitting instead of crocheting (because for some reason that’s easier for me).  I made it 6 stitches across and just kept on going until I could wrap it around my neck a few times.  In the photograph I twisted it a few times and tied it into place to give it the swirled look.  The haphazard nature of these projects is so attractive to me because they can be as simple or as complex as I (or you!)  want.   They could be used as a necklace, headband, belt, or bracelet. You could sew buttons on them or weave beads into them, and best of all, you can pretty much quit as soon as you get tired of doing it and still have a wearable item.  They make great projects for beginning crafters, and immensely gratifying ones for those who are more experienced. 

Needless to say, this is a great use for that weird leftover half-skein that’s taking up space in your life.  Even if you bought yarn to make them you could easily make 4 with one skein (which costs between 2 and 5 dollars usually).  So cheap.  

Beginners can easily replicate my design and my friend’s design with these directions from Lion yarn.


For those experienced with knitting and crocheting, this pattern from Aromy’s Originals will give you a more challenging and lovely necklace from your leftovers.

Anyone else have creative and fashionable uses for leftover craft goodies or yarn?  We’d love to hear about them!

Happy Crafting!

Amy