So wrong it has to be good

I have this problem. I'm sure many of you share it. You see, I have an addiction to animal print, or as an old classmate called it "exotica."  It started in high school with a pair of zebra striped Rocket Dog shoes, and now I reguarly wear one of my several pairs of leopard print ballet flats to work. My husband doesn't share my animal print love, in fact he cringes when I mention it.  The first syllable doesn't even have to be fully out of my mouth before he's saying no.  Sometimes, I use his stereotypically guy fashion inability against him.  Our giraffe print rug that takes up a good portion of the living room? He think it's a pebbly stone print. 

So here, my fellow animal print lovers, induldge in some lovely goodness for a moment:

1960s double pocket zebra skirt, available at FebruaryMarch for $17.50

1950s giraffe print dress by California Girl, available at jumblelaya for $174.99.

 

1960s faux crocodile by Socialites available at Dear Golden for $24.

 

1950s leopard print waist coat available at Allen Company Inc for $198.

It came from the '80s; or how to do the '80s

I'm looking at you H&M.

You see, on my recent trip to NYC, I had a conversation with my lovely travel companion on how not all 1980s fashion was bad. In fact, there's so many lovely items to be had from this decade.  Sure, what we remember is awful: the bright, shiny fabrics, the neon, the stirrup pants, the puffy sleeves, the ruffles and shoulder pads. But really there are good items.The 80s had a bit of an identity crisis, borrowing from a multitude of eras to create a new look, 1920s, 1880s, 1940s, it seemed like the 80s tried it all and some of it turned out well.

In the midst of all this convincing, we wandered into the nearest H&M only to be overwhelmed with all the bad parts of the 80s. My ability to convince my friend was quickly disappearing. We then ended up at a vintage shop where the staff was trying to educate a few teenagers about the cost of original 1920s clothing and directing them to 1920s versions. They (surprisingly) headed for the door.

So today, I did a bit of sneaking around etsy, coming up with some yummy 1980s tidbits.  Here's my proof things weren't all bad:

Black jacket by Rina Rossi, available at IKAHN for $42.

Red and black knit dress by Prive Petites, available at snappyfishvintage for $38.

 

Floral dress with dolman sleeves, available at starlet vintage, for $48.

 

 Italian woven crepe dress, available at starlet vintage for $52.

 

Black deep v dress, available at Capricious Traveler for $42.

 

Zebra print heels by Savvy, available at Rachael's Realm for $37.

Down the rabbit hole...

Just a month left until Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and you know I'm dying to see it. But until then I've been thinking of translating some Alice style. I would make an etsy treasury, but I'm too impatient to wait! So here you are, dear blog friends:

196os blue sailor dress available at Small Earth Vintage for $66.

1980s teal blue blouse available at Remains of the Day for $15.

1960s Gino Charles silk dress and coat available at Dear Golden for $325.

Vintage watch fob necklace available at Very Court Cottage for $39.95.

Mid-century watch pendant available at Atticgoods for $100.

1970s white rabbit fur coat (that's right, I went there!) available at Mad Girl Vintage for $108.

1980s Evan-Picone heels available at Old Baltimore Vintage for $38.