Television Inspiration: Swingtown

I know the television show Swingtown was on this summer, but somehow all of the last episodes got away from me. I just recently got a chance to catch up by watching it on Netflix. I know there's been a lot of debate if the show is coming back, but quite honestly it ended at a point that resolved a lot of what I was watching it for. If anyone else caught the show I was mostly interested in the romance between Roger and and Susan and that had a satisfactory conclusion with the end of the season. It would be sad not to see the hotness that is Tom Decker played by the actor Grant Show, but I could learn to live without it.

Given that Swingtown takes place in the summer of 1976, there's a lot of great fashion in each episode. Sure some of it wouldn't translate well into a modern wardrobe, well unless you wanted to look straight from the 70s, but it's still full of wrap dresses, bikinis, and gold hoop earrings. Each of the female characters has a distinctive style. Janet reads mostly like a 1960s housewife in shirt and skirt sets. This fits her more conservative personality. Susan who is trying to find herself and decide what she wants in life swings (haha!) between a lot of what I would call as mommy apparel and sexy dresses for going out to clubs. Trina Decker, the main swinging female of the show, has my favorite wardrobe. All of her outfits are sexy and manage to do so in a way that we would never term as slutty. Perhaps it's the character's confidence that manages to sexify more reserved options than we're used to seeing presently, but I think it mostly just shows that being sexy doesn't require showing a lot of skin or that showing skin doesn't have to come across in a way that seems cheap.

Below are some shots of Swingtown to inspire us all to embrace a bit of polyester and see that the 1970s had a lot to offer.

Imagined Travel: Iceland

We're still debating about where to take our honeymoon, which I suppose is alright since we haven't even set an official date for the wedding. All we know is that it's late next summer or early fall. We both love to travel and so a honeymoon where we get to travel together is extremely exciting. Since we've been together I've traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Alberta, India, China, and Tibet without him. It will be nice to actually spend some time traveling together.

One of the potential honeymoon destinations for us is Iceland. We both appreciate that it's an out of the way location, they have amazing scenery, and they're famed for their hot springs. Airline tickets were a bit pricey the last time I looked, but since the Icelandic economy recently tanked maybe it will be affordable in other ways. This outfit is inspired by my daydreams of traveling to Iceland with Jar.

Outfit consists of:

Green cotton tulip skirt by Erotokritos. Available at net-a-porter for $252.

Vintage brown leather boots by Xavier Danaud. Size 8 (runs small). Available at Archive Vintage for $298.

Brown acrylic hooded sweater. Available at Wet Seal for $22.50.

1940s 14K yellow, red, and white gold earrings. Available at the Marlene Harris Collection for $300.

Cream hammered silk blouse by Development. Available at net-a-porter for $258.75.

1980s brass purse. Available at Posh Vintage for $265.

Film Inspiration: Bus Stop

This weekend I was supposed to be working on a grant application, but feeling overwhelmed I decided to curl up with my computer and Netflix and watch a movie. The kitties and I piled into bed to catch Bus Stop (1956) starring Marilyn Monroe. The basic premise of the film can be read over at Wikipedia if you're interested. As a movie it's interesting and provides quite a few moments to think about the portrayal of women. Monroe as Cherie admits that she's been with men which the male main character comes to accept. At first this seems like an amazing achievement for 1950s film until you take into consideration that the male lead isn't really the best catch.

In terms of wardrobing, Monroe only wears a few outfits throughout the film which is unsurprising considering it barely covers two days of time. Monroe's main outfit is in the pictures above. The look is stunning on her and the belted waist and pencil skirt perfectly emphasize how small her waist was. Throughout the whole movie I kept thinking how much I loved her look. On Saturday I went shopping for the camisoles and cardigans I put on my "must buy list" and came across the perfect black pencil skirt that could have been a replica of Marilyn's. It was at TJ Maxx and was from CC Couture. They had just one so I snatched it off the rack and hurried to the fitting room to find that it was too big. Curse you shopping gods, curse you! I will not be foiled. I will keep looking and I'll let you all know what I come up with.

A Find From Every Era Friday...err Saturday: Accessories

I think there should be more accessories in my life and in yours too. I think the most successful outfits pay attention to the details. Often it's hard to keep or gather together the right accessories, you know the staple kind of accessories, but the ones I feature below are what makes the outfit. They're really the stars of the show.


1910s

This embroidered panel has attached snaps that make it perfect for attaching as a belt. Unlike most belts I wouldn't want to put any strain on it. I think it would be best paired with a dress that already has a waist seam and this could rest over the top. There's so many beautiful colors in this embroidery that could be used to go off from. I personally love the lighter blue in the bark of the trees. This silk belt is available for $35 at Woodland Farms Antiques.

1920s
I love the sage green of this silk velvet hat. What I love more is that there's concentric hearts sewn into it. It's very subtle but so endearing. This hat is perfect for a cardigan and camisole top day. The kind of day you head out and drink hot chocolate someplace cozy. In fact this would go perfectly with my new gray cardigan....hmmm...okay I'm stopping myself now, but that doesn't mean you have to. This cozy hat is at Contentment Farms for $225 and is made by Liberty & Co London.

1930s
I've recently discovered that I need to go belt shopping. I think I may be lying to myself because I have plenty of belts. I daydream about a closet with room for belt hooks or hangers. Ahhhh. In any case I had to share this bakelite belt with you. I imagine it with something on the opposite side of the color wheel like a blue or green dress or over a tunic with some heathered brown pants. This is up for sale by loveforcritters (they say the money goes to a humane society) on ebay with a start of $99.99 and a reserve.

1940s


Look how shiny this is? I wonder if you could see your reflection in it. This really shows you the amazing construction of vintage items. It has mother of pearl on both sides and inside it has the full range of primping items including a tortoiseshell comb. Even better it has a lipstick holder. Sometimes when I'm out I think I need to reapply my lipstick. Somehow my mother manages to stash lipstick in her purse with no problem. Whenever I do it, the cap comes off and suddenly everything is covered in Cranberry Crush. I must not be the alone in this right? Anyway I'd be tempted to wear this purse with an all white outfit. This purse would glow with a bit of color, but still work for a monochromatic look. This cutie is $135 from Antiques & Collectibles by Laura at Ruby Lane.

1950s

My friend Meghan over at Transletics asked me if she could wear a hat to my wedding. A hat? Northern New Yorkers don't do hats unless it's a tuque, that's Canadian for what you all call a beanie. Is that what it's called? Oh and we also do baseball hats. Meghan though is Southern and I've seen her hat shopping. Given that, I know she'd appreciate this one. It's so elegant and would look perfect at a wedding or a horse racing event or going to the store. I think we need more hats in our lives. This one is by Sea Glass Vintage on etsy for $26.

1960s

Scarves are so versatile. I've worn them wrapped around my hair, as a headband, as a belt, and worn jauntily around my neck. They're something unexpected. This one has such a great pattern to it and look at those amazing colors. Imagine using this piece as inspiration for your outfit colors. Most of these colors you wouldn't expect to place together, but they clearly work. This is perfect for fall...it is still fall correct? Back in NY there's already been reports of a first snow. Brrrr. This little scarf is only $16 at Glad Rags & Curios at Ruby Lane.

1970s

Why buy new large sunglasses that look like they're from the 1970s when you could just buy a pair from the 1970s? This pair is made by Christian Dior. I picture lounging on a beach chair in my bikini taking a nap (with plenty of sunscreen on). Or alternately they could protect me from the glare of sunlight off snow. Just sayin'. This pair can be found at Recy on etsy for $36.

1980s

A tiger print perfect sized handbag? Oh I die a little! I know I expressed my love for leopard print in general and on shoes in specific, but really I love all animal print, you know if it wasn't ever actually on an animal. This beauty is faux fur and if you look closely it has amazing clasps. I'd put this with a cute dress, probably something in a solid color so that the purse pops out the most. Seriously this purse needs to get our there in the world and it can at just $45 at The Vintage Merchant on Ruby Lane. Squeee!!!

What my wardrobe needs...

...is apparently a good washing. Over at Q's Daydream there was a discovery of a cute dress hidden in a bag in a closet. After reading the post I realized that I needed to rediscover some of my clothing items. I've been feeling down about my clothes and like I have nothing to wear, but that's not true. Most of my wonderful pieces are crammed into my hand wash only basket. Last night I sorted through the pile and washed four vintage dresses. Today it was three dresses, two tops, and a sweater. They should be dry enough by evening for me to do another round. In the process I've found my wonderful 1970s kimono inspired dress, my 1960s yellow mini dress, and my 1950s floral dress with a chartreuse bodice. I also found my thesis defense dress which is a tricky number to wash. It's that one in the bottom right corner. It's black with white vines trailing down the skirt. While I've had black dresses that have bled grey and even brown, I've never had one that bled red. Has anyone else experienced this? It's such a pain to wash because it bleeds so much that it's almost impossible to keep the white vines dye free.

Since I was on such a roll last night I decided it was time to clean out my closet. I did a huge overhaul a year ago, but clearly I was kidding myself with many of the items I kept. I'm not sure why I need a pilled sweater from high school or a skirt that I've had for six years as I attempted to find just the right shirt to go with it. I have five Target sized bags ready for the donation bin and my closet looks much more organized.

In releasing a lot of my worn-out wardrobe I discovered a problem I'm sure many of us share. There's so many articles of clothing that need a standard camisole or belt or sweater to wear with it. Without them, the outfit just doesn't really work. The problem is that I've at some point purchased all of these things, but never replaced them as they wore out. I need to go basics shopping. My list to start with includes:

Black belt
Brown belt
plain camisoles or tanks (black, red, blue...)
Black cardigan

What else should I be looking for?

Office Supplies

Today brought a job offer back east, back home. I'm extremely excited about this, but I have a lot of details to iron out in general. If I move back home I can finally buy a house and put to use all of my skills and ideas gathered from home improvement shows and magazines. As a writer the space I'd most like to decorate is my office. I've got some art skills so I actually might copy that screen since I obviously can't afford it. The nice thing about a home office is you can sit in it in your pajamas and no one needs to know. Ahhhh.