• Navy beret that I sewed pearls on. I got the idea from Karin of http://www.blog.lilyofthevalley.se when she did the same!
• Orange paper flowers
• Pearl/Glass earrings – made by my sister
• Vintage navy jacket – Austin clothing swap
• Green belt – Decades Vintage, PDX
• 1930s flame colored dress – ebay
• Remix vintage shoes

I bought this dress on ebay with the original intention of cutting out the pattern and using the shape as a projection screen as part of my MFA thesis. It’s difficult to capture on film, but this fabric is absolutely luminous and glossy – it burns with so many colors! However, the projection idea proved too obtuse, and luckily, was scrapped. The dress remained, quiet, in my closet.
The first strange thing I noticed about this dress was that the piping around the pockets and sleeves is the sweetest color of periwinkle. But, I’ve never ever even thought to pair periwinkle with orange, but I think it looks quite lovely. I also like how the breast pockets look like folded envelopes! One thing I wish I could change about the dress is the length. It has a full zipper, like that of a house dress, fancy as though this fabric may be. It was probably a glorified dressing gown. We just got these paper flowers in at my work. I had a fun time today moving them from my hair to my blazer and back again. I got them in almost every color so brace yourselves to see some in the next few posts.
My remix shoes are still pleasing me with every time I wear them! These got a little beat up in the back when I rode on my bicycle.
Now my favorite! The sleeves! These are the kind of poofy sleeves I draw on all of my cartoon girls:

I think in this image I was literally chanting “Puffy sleeve! Puffy sleeve!” in a muppet voice.

The first time I wore the dress, Halloween, 2007:
I was posing as a living mannequin inside and outside of Decades Vintage Clothing in downtown Portland. I started out in the window, but I am too tall for most people walking by to notice. When people made eye contact with me, I winked at them! When I posed outside, two men pulled on my fingers to see if I was real. I held a dish of candy and whispered Enjoy when people took a piece. One woman yelled the loudest I’ve ever heard in real life. Her friends laughed at her. Two business men tipped me.

• 1930s angular beret – Alexandra’s Vintage, PDX
• 1950s? Cotton Dress with leaves and rooster print – Buffalo Exchange, Austin, Texas
• Yellow hair facinatior I’ve worn as a brooch – www.etsy.com/shop/giantdwarf
• Yellow ribbon as belt – I think this was tied around something I got from etsy!
• Black patterned stockings
• Yellow road stripe heels

I look pretty wholesome and sweet, save for the black, pointed nails!
It’s so very windy outside today! All of my wind chimes woke me up this morning!
I love these garters! I bought them from an etsy store that only had one thing for sale, EVER, and it was this pair! They are hand-painted little flapper girl faces. She’s perfect: reddish hair, blue eyes and red lips! I’ve emailed the company several times to see if they were going to make more but I’ve never gotten a reply. Etsy is like that sometimes!
There was a band playing at my house until 3 am so I’m a bit tired. It was difficult to sleep.

Have a nice Sunday, everyone! I hope it’s sunny where you are.

• Red corduroy bow – snipped off one of my Hello Kitty plush dolls and affixed to a pincurl clip
• Red Scarf – Thrifted in Lawerence, KS
• Red leather gloves – estate sale, Eugene, OR
• Black jacket with Red/Yellow/Blue flecked Tweed Details – Buffalo Exchange, ATX
• 1930s dress with Primary color daisy details – Buffalo Exchange, ATX
• Red knee high socks – URBN
• Black Patent Shoes – Target

It was actually raining really hard when I took this photo!
Like I’ve said before… I LOVE MATCHY MATCHY!
Just the small bits of primary colored tweed that compliment the dress make this outfit very successful in my eyes
Here are my little bows! I scalped my Hello Kitty plush and now she looks SO much like Dear Daniel with no bow!

I stitched one single pronged pin curl clip to the back of each bow, so I can slip it on when I feel like channeling Hello Kitty.

• Coral knit beret – URBN
• Aqua patina earrings – URBN
• 1940s long navy dress – Alexandra’s Vintage, PDX
• Navy Socks
• Pink Lacy tights – URBN
• Navy shoes – remixvintageshoes.com

• Black metal lace earrings
• 1950s (?) Vintage black dress – Nobody’s Baby, Eugene, OR
• White socks from sockdreams.com
• Pointy shoes (traded with Belleweather)

I think this s probably one of the most perfect little black dresses I’ve ever found. It was only $22 to boot!

• Black Damask earrings – Urbn
• 1950s Jade/Green dress – Big Bertha’s, Austin, TX
• Green Cameo Ring – Uncommon Objects, Austin, Texas
• Black socks/Leggings (I wear these everyday to ride my bike in the cold)
• Black flats (Also, for bike riding)
• PS I was also wearing a coat through most of today but I went out in the cold for this shoot.

This is a cameo ring I got at Uncommon Objects a few weeks ago. I’ve been searching for the perfect nail polish to match! Too teal? Too green? Too expensive (it’s up to $140 on ebay)? I finally settled on a matte color from OPI called Gargantuan Green Grape. Here is my fake senior portrait…
My pin curls have been multiplying. I’ve been setting my normal forehead one and it transforms into two or three by the end of the morning. After seeing Fantastic Mr. Fox yesterday, I bought two holiday dresses: one in green and one in red. This green one has big fat pleats and a cute little tie around on the neck.

I’m done with school! I’m done with school!
Well, at least until January…

• Headpiece from GiantDwarf on Etsy
• Black chandelier earrings from URBN
• 1930s black dress with ruching details and red, blue and yellow flower print – Buffalo Exchange
• Black socks
• Garter from Norma Valentine
• Yellow Strappy shoes – Buffalo Exhange

I don’t know why my face read as sullen here, I had a fantastic day at work that involved jumping into a pile of stuffed animals and smothering my co-worker with a stuffed pink dolphin.
I’ve never been one for primary colors. Primary colors are not very often shown together in contemporary wear, and they carry the same connotations for me as when I wear navy/red/white. That is, when I wear those colors I feel like I’m dressing up to be patriotic or as a flag of some sort. The primary colors are childish and basic, which was always a bad thing in my mind… until this dress.

I very nearly did not buy this dress because I thought, “Ew, primary colors…that will never get worn.” There was also a 1/2 foot rip in the back of the dress. BUT I got it for half off (so, $8 total!), and I sewed it up the very same night I got it and it wears beautifully. The lace around the color was once black (my guess) but it has faded into a brown/purple. I love the little splotch daisy print and it gives me an excuse to wear all of my yellow accessories at the same time. Now if only I hadn’t sold my 1960s road stripe yellow bicycle last summer…

A-ha! Here is the smile!

Now to match the parking lot stripes:

• Gold skull headpiece
• 1940s gold locket
• Gold lame dress with hand painted carousel horses
• black socks
• Gold Melissa shoes

The skull is made of styrofoam and covered in glitter. I cut it in half and pinned the bow that used to be on this dress to the back. I spray painted some Baby’s Breath to poke out of the top. It’s attached to a stretchy cloth headband by about fifty pins that are just stuck every which way into the back of the styrofoam. This is such a comfortable headpiece and it’s so very light weight and doesn’t give me a neck ache. Here is the secret for getting lots of makeup off: soak face in the shower, cleanse, and then put jojoba oil all over. Let it sit and then just wipe it off.
Oh, by the way, my tattoo is by the lovely Annie Mess of Resurrection Tattoos here in Austin, Texas.

• Two giant flowers affixed to hair combs
• Baby’s Breath
• Turquoise ribbon
• Pink scalloped sweater – Anthropologie
• Turquoise/White vintage dress – New Bohemia, ATX
• Pink socks
• Black pointy shoes

Today was Pride, Prejudice and Zombies day at work, and since I’m a very poor zombie, I decided to go for Dia de los Muertos instead. A few weeks ago in preparation for Gadjo Disko! I bought two huge carnation pom pon flowers at the craft store. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, only that I wanted to wear them as a headpiece somehow some day. I bought some plastic hair combs and snapped off a tine. I squeezed the stem of the flower through the broken tine area and set it with strong glue overnight.
This morning while I was doing my makeup I listened to the soundtrack for Candyman and Hocus Pocus, specifically putting “I put a spell on you” on repeat several times.

Here was my makeup for Dia de Los Muertos in 2008. I was really excited to move to Texas because I always loved Day of the Dead imagery but I never ever lived in a place that celebrated it. The first thing I ever bought was a little skeleton mermaid in San Francisco wayyyy back in 1999 during my first visit to the city. I had no idea what she was, only that I thought she was precious and that I needed her right then! There are whole shops and museums this time of year in Austin devoted to Day of the Dead celebrations. Last year I saw the giant crowd of zombies dancing all together to Thriller in unison in the Day of the Dead parade.

Point of Fashion: Shimmery mermaid travels to dry land in order to pluck stars from the night sky and place them atop her head.

• Black headband with Gold Stars
• 1940s gold locket
• Metallic mermaid 1930s reproduction dress – Buffalo Exchange
• Black knee socks
• Gold shoes – Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

My favorite character in all of Dame Darcy’s Meatcake comics is Effluvia the gin swilling, fried clam eating siren. Unlike her, I don’t have a fancy ring made out of hexed young sailors, nor do I scoot around in a wheelchair in order not to scrape my fishtail on the ground. I found this dress amidst the crowded Halloween garb at Buffalo Exchange, and I was entranced by the swishy bottom hem and low back. The way it glows in different lights is just spectacular! I’ve had this dress since Friday and I’ve worn it every day since then.

Here are some sweet mermaid things from etsy:

Mermaid admiring herself in a mirror – Ring

Black lace dress with mermaid bottom

Day of the Dead Mermaids!

Mermaid Zipper Coin Purse