Vint Condition

31 August 2012

Exhaustion

Dress: bird and flower print 1950s dress found at an auction

Sweater: chocolate brown cardigan by Spense found at Marshall's

Belt: skinny brown belt found at TJ Maxx

Shoes: yellow suede platform sandals by Franco Sarto found at Last Chance

It's only the end of the first week of the semester and yet it feels like week 13. Babies complicate things. Last night Viv fussed angrily for several hours. I'm lucky that this isn't usual for her, but by the time the alarm went off this morning it felt like my eyes had been closed for seconds. It's too early for my students to notice just how exhausted I am. Or maybe I faked enough energy to get through my classes.

Today I planned on using my afternoon to finish this weirdly complicated essay I've been working on. It's not happening though. I don't know how to connect all of its pieces and Viv was sleepy when I got home so we curled up together and took a much needed nap.

And the store, well I haven't updated recently even though I have some great stuff waiting to be photographed like a 1940s suit set, a 1960s wool Anne Fogarty dress, a 1960s wedding dress, a 1920s flapper dress with felt flower detailing. It's on the agenda for next week but my fingers are firmly crossed on that.

27 August 2012

First Day

Today, another first day. Last year the river behind me was flooding from Irene (although it's not apparent in the post) and I was quite a bit smaller. I'm working on losing all the baby weight, but it's a long process. The skirt I wore last year doesn't come close to fitting yet and most of my vintage clothing was packed away until I can squeeze myself into them again.

But for now I managed to pull together this outfit. I consider it a success since a student (not even one of my own attempting to earn brownie points) complemented me on it this morning.

Sweater: burnt orange sweater by found at TJ Maxx

Top: sea green tank found at Banana Republic

Belt: ruffled belt by Betsy Johnson found at TJ Maxx

Skirt: 1980s brown skirt found at Goodwill

Shoes: brown platform sandals by Nine West found at Marshall's

08 July 2012

New Addition

VIVIAN GRAY

BORN 9:50 pm June 22nd

AT 7lbs 14oz, 20 inches

Meet Vivian Gray, the newest addition to our small family. Sweet Vivian was due on June 21st, my father's birthday. Even though I knew it was unlikely she would be born that day, it was disappointing to see the minutes and hours tick by and the day come to a close without her here. And yet, I'm glad that Vivian came at her own time. Just as we passed into a new day, I started having contractions and by 9:50 that evening Vivian took her first breath of air. Vivian has her own birthday now, just one day after her grandfather's.

The last two weeks has been a series of adjustments for us all. The world is so fresh and new for Viv and I have learned to respect that there's still so much that she's taking in and that process can be overwhelming. It's hard to decipher her needs and moods, but I'm hoping we'll get there eventually.

So far what I've learned about Viv

Things Vivian Loves:

her dad (photo evidence above)

her crocheted bear (made by her dad)

black and white contrast images

tummy time

long car rides

Things Vivian Hates:

her diaper changed

people messing with her arms

hiccups

being swaddled

being put in her car seat

16 June 2012

Weekend Snippets

Admire:
All of my admires this week have something in common, they include the color yellow. I love the brightness, the pop that yellow gives an outfit, but unfortunately it's not a friendly color on me. I think it could be because my skin has yellow undertones that competes with the use of it in an outfit. That's why many of the recent yellow additions to the shop are actually mine, I finally gave in and confessed it wasn't working. Check out all the yellows here.

But really, these three women below make yellow work in a way that I can't, and prove the versatility of the color!

Source: ashtreevintage.blogspot.com via Vint on Pinterest

Ashlee runs Ash Tree Vintage and also writes at the Ash Tree Vintage blog. I love the addition of yellow with the very graphic black and white shirt and the vintage basket purse is perfection.

Source: ashleyording.com via Vint on Pinterest

Ashely runs the lovely Fancy Fine shop and blog. I'm incredibly jealous of this entire outfit particularly since, if I'm correct, this is a Marguerite Rubel coat. While yellow wouldn't look good on me, I recently sold one that was green that would have! What was I thinking? I love how sweetly simple this whole outfit is, and how it reminds me of Pushing Daisies.

Source: kittenhood.wordpress.com via Vint on Pinterest

Daria of Kittenhood just about kills me in this outfit! I never would have thought to pair this dress and those tights together, but how much more perfect could they be!I also love the eclectic accessories. Leopard print belt: check. Adorable brown shoes: check. White clutch: check. **sigh**

Learn:
Find out how to make flavored Arnold Palmers over at A Beautiful Mess. It's my husband's favorite summertime/anytime drink so I'm sure I'll be trying some soon.

Read:
Catch up on your Rudolph Valentino lore and learn about his conflicts with his enemies.

15 June 2012

Turn! Turn! Turn!: True Blood Season 5 Ep. 1

Yesterday I took a day off from the shop and lounged around finishing Season 4 of True Blood so I could start Season 5. Well, that wasn't the only reason. At 39 weeks pregnant I'm getting a bit exhausted. While watching, though, I was quickly reminded why I fizzled out partway through the season last year. Oh, HBO, you could do so much better!

Last season I started off excited to see what Sookie's wardrobe mavens had in store for us. I planned to write about it here because so much of it seemed vintage or vintage-inspired in previous seasons, but Sookie spent most of Season 4 naked or in t-shirts and tanks. Not exactly inspiring.

The first episode of this season also didn't yield anything fabulous in the way of the Sookie wardrobe department, but fortunately someone else has risen to the occasion. Thank goodness for Jessica! She wears a stunning red cape in the early scenes, but it's this dress that really stands out.

While rocking out to The Runaways' Cherry Bomb, Jessica wears this amazing late 80s/early 90s influenced body con dress. I don't have any currently stashed away in my shop or my own closet, so I immediately prowled around etsy looking for similar dresses. Not that I can wear one any time soon, but I know some of my lovely readers can!

1990s body con dress available at On the Prowl Vintage

1980s tie dye bandage dress available at Native Owl

1980s floral body con dress found at So Passe Vintage

14 June 2012

A Hint of Vint: 4th of July version

The other day I met someone who, upon learning I sold vintage clothing, insisted that she was not "cool enough" to wear vintage. I think there's a block for a lot of people when they consider vintage clothes. While I love the ladies who dress completely in period vintage every day, I think that's the style that most think of when hearing the word "vintage" which can seem daunting and even distant from their own styling choices.

I've long loved vintage clothing, but my personal style is one that integrates pieces of vintage with modern clothing. It's not as hard as some may think and certainly not as hard as dressing up completely in vintage. Consider that so many styles that we're wearing are already vintage-inspired (see the latest Anthropologie line of fit and flare dresses) and it makes more sense.

In any case, that brief conversation has me resurrecting my occasional outfit idea posts. This one is for the upcoming 4th of July. I'd wear either of these, but I'm guessing I'll be doing little celebrating this year and more spending time with the new baby (please please let her be here by then!).