I took my drivers test today and now I have joined the ranks of driving society! I will still be riding my bike nearly everywhere, but I wanted to have an option to rent Car2Go if I needed to. I’m honestly very frightened at driving a Smart Car because they are so small and there are lots of highways and confusing feeder roads in Austin.

• Navy 1950s tilt hat – flea market in Arkansas
• Kissing Swans necklace – From a trip to New Mexico when I was 17 (I think?)
• 1930s wrap dress with polka dots – Belonged to the radiant Robyn at one time, I’ve had it for a few years now. I always wear it on patriotic holidays.
• Navy knee socks
• Red strappy shoes with a wooden sole

Dear readers, I realize that it’s been quite some time since my last outfit post (nearly two months! notice how the plants behind me have wilted in the July heat!) and I do apologize. My summer school session is over, and I’m back to making ice cream, dressing up, and not waking up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am to commute to school. Today I’m missing the Vegan Hot Dog eating contest, but I’m hoping to sneak on to some rooftops to spy the fireworks over Town Lake in downtown Austin. July 4th is my least favorite holiday, because of the simple equation of Cheap Explosives + Beer + Clumsy Boys = Me Terrified. I’m content to watch professional fireworks from a distance, thanks!

Have fun, everyone!

• Lace/Grey dress – Buffalo Exchange
• Necklace – from www.etsy.com/shop/swanbones
• Gold/Creme bow belt, from a 1950s dress that fell apart several years ago
• White/Black polka dot stockings (I think from H&M)
• black flats

Today is the day after 5 hours of tattoo work on my phonograph lady… I was a little disoriented this morning and didn’t realize that the tights aren’t quite the right shade!

• Green/Creme vintage scarf with ballerina print – Providence, RI
• Lacy blouse/sweater – from Delia*s. I love this shape but I’m so scared of washing it… mall clothes fall apart so easily!
• Vintage wool sailor pants – cut off
• White lacy tights
• Avocado green shoes from remixvintageshoes.com

Please excuse the skipped post yesterday. I brought my camera out to take my photo and I’d left the battery pack on my desk at home!
Today was very beautiful outside and I bought myself a dozen coral colored roses and a cupcake. Tomorrow I’ll be at Rio Rita with RecSpec! for a Valentine’s Day special. They will be playing music and I will be manning a naughty make-your-own Valentine booth. Come out if you can!

• White ribbon as bow headband
• 1930s white dress with pink stripes and flower baskets
• Pink sweater – Buffalo Exchange, I think.
• Green Belt – Decades Vintage, PDX
• Striped tights – Urbn, I think?
• Pointed shoes I traded Bellwether for a few months ago

• Red Beret – Nobody’s Baby, Eugene, OR
• Deco-y Earrings – URBN
• Vintage White Coat – SVdP, Eugene, OR
• Red Leather Gloves – Estate Sale
• Gold Bee Brooch
• Reproduction Teal dress with lace overlay – Buffalo Exchange
• Teal Knit Sweater Tights – URBN
• Red Socks (underneath)
• Red shiny flats
• Seuss, The Dog wears a red sweater

Tetsie and I went on a long, meandering walk with her dog, a half poodle named Seuss. My daily outfit photo was taken about five hours later than I normally take it, hence the sunshine and shadow!
Tetsie finds a swing in front of a wonderful 1920s bungalow in Hyde Park.
Guess who else lives in Austin? These birds! Are they pheasant? Some kind of chicken? This city girl doesn’t know!
We also saw wild green parrots who have built quite a substantial nest in the spotlight beams above the intramural fields. It’s said that someone let some domesticated birds go a few years ago and they’ve mated and build a little colony. Maybe Texas is similar to their native climate? It was really sweet to hear them peeping and chirping high above our heads while the sun was setting.

• Cloche hat by Yellow Field
• 1940s? brown dress with white smiling leaves
• Buy Me a Whiskey slip from my etsy store
• White socks from sockdreams.com
• Spectator-type shoes from Sechyelles

I cannot get enough of this hat. It’s still not even that hot in Texas but I’m finding excuses to wear it. “Sixty eight degrees?! Better put my hat on!”

This is what the slips I sell on etsy look like when you lift up the hem of your dress… it’s perfect for signaling your order in a loud, crowded bar.
The Ladies’ Society for the Reinstatement of Proper Undergarments is pleased to present Doublespeak’s ultimate tool in flirtation: a coquettish vintage slip with the phrase Buy Me a Whiskey” hand-embroidered on the lacy hem. This item is perfect for the modern lady because it combines the uniqueness of vintage with the functionality of lingerie. It may be worn as an undergarment for the teasing flirt or as a simple dress for the tart. Ladies and gentlemen will melt at the sentimentality, and it’s much more tasteful than sliding one’s number on a cocktail napkin.

Things are about to get crazy for Halloween, so I’m wearing a simple outfit today to make up for all of the madness that I will be wearing in the next week!

• Art Nouveaux(esque) earrings – Urban Outfitters
• Lace Blouse – F21 via Buffalo Exchange
• Rust Gabardine skirt – vintage store in PDX
• Melissa Shoes – Brazil

* White ribbon in hair
* 1950s? navy/white vintage dress with sheer front panel – Nobody’s Baby, Eugene, Oregon
* Mary Jane High Heels – Target

Today’s outfit was rather plain to write about (bow, dress, heels) but I think the color and pattern of this dress is so striking that it doesn’t need to be overpowered with a lot of accessories. Once again, I am matching navy blue and black together! Did you know that most vintage dresses are either black or navy? I learned this from John when I worked in Portland at Decade’s Vintage. I didn’t believe him at first, but then I went to my own closet and examined all of my dresses. I rearranged my closet in ROYGBIV style and sure enough, there were more dresses in the “BIV” part of the  spectrum. I’ve tried since then to make a conscientious choice not to buy navy blue, and I think I feel as if I have more variety because of it. I still have not found suitable navy shoes that are vegan friendly.
This weekend in Austin, Texas was Austin City Limits, so there were a lot of great shows. I saw !!! at Emo’s on Friday. I have been seeing them live since 2002 when they played my small hometown in Arkansas and I’ve managed to see them in almost every major city I’ve ever been to! Friday night was a good show, save for all of the beer that got poured all over my shoes in the crowd.
Yesterday at work I saw Jack White in my store and I had a really funny moment of greeting him really enthusiastically like I would any other customer and then suddenly realizing who he was and then kind of freezing up! He kind of did a double take when he saw me, and I think it might be because I have really similar coloring to his wife, the lovely Karen Elson! I spent the rest of the day arguing with my co-worker about Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose. I loved it, but I like all Loretta Lynn.

I would do this, except I wouldn’t put lipstick on my eyebrows.

Yours till the kitchen sinks,

Amelia

I’m in the shadows waiting for the bus so I can go to Thai Fresh with Miss Allison.

• Red Bandana – had it forever!
• Red sunglasses – H&M, San Francisco
• 1930s wrap dress with scallop border – from Robin via Ebay
• Red strappy sandals with wooden bases