12.30.09

Ok, I'm baaackkkk! Sorry for that unintended holiday blogging break! Things just sort of got away from me there for a while, what with all the festivities. I'm going to hit all this digital stuff hard soon, but tomorrow I'm going to Nashville for some celebrations so I'll catch ya'll in the New Year! Have the hap-hap-happiest New Years of all!

Now, onto the main attraction... sporting some of my holiday loot!







Dress: Old Navy
Scarf: Christmas gift from Mom
Leggings: Vera Wang for Kohl's
Boots: Groundhog shoes
Socks: Hue (?), Christmas gift from Mom
New coat: (post) Christmas gift from Mom

A Very Merry Christmas to All!

First Snow of the Year

Well, today we had the first snow of the year. By tomorrow, people will probably start referring to it as the "Blizzard of '09". I live in the mountains, but Asheville is still the south and we only get one to two inches of real snow each year. Well, I would say we have already gotten almost a foot today!

Here is what it looked like this morning when I woke up:


And, here is what it looks like now:


Finally, for your viewing pleasure, a gratuitous photo of Petey modeling the sweater that I (very poorly) knit for him. He HATES the snow.

This Just Upcycled!

I've been working long and hard upcycling this dress, I just finished it, and had to share with ya'll. If you like it, its listed in my Etsy store! When I found this dress at the thrift store, I could see that it had a lot of potential, even though it kind of looked like a sad sack of navy blue fabric. Here is the before:

And, here is the finished product! I especially love the colorful belt, which I made from fabric salvaged from a hideous pair of 80s pants.






Here is a little DIY list of what I did to upcycle the dress, hopefully it will inspire you to refashion something in your wardrobe that isn't working for you! Some of the things I did were a bit more complicated, but even using a few of the simpler tricks can really make a huge difference to a garment that you aren't wearing because there is something a little off about it.

1. Add an elastic waistline- it will define the waist of the garment and make it much more flattering! The obvious choice is to do this to a dress- but maybe you have a sweater or a shirt that you like to belt. Adding an elastic waist will achieve the same effect. This is super easy if you have a sewing machine. Just buy some elastic at the fabric store and be sure to use the zig-zag stitch on your machine (check your manual). While you are feeding the fabric and elastic through the machine, let the fabric of the garment go in flat while you stretch the elastic out as tightly and you can. Once you are done with the sewing and let the elastic relax, it will gather up the fabric of the garment and give it a more tailored look.

2. I added a bubble hem to this dress, but an easier fix is just to hem a dress or skirt to a shorter length. I have a lot of older and vintage dresses in my closet that hit at an awkward mid-calf length, and I bet you do too. The just above the knee length and the mini length are super popular this season because they work so well with tights and leggings. Hemming is easy to do, even without a sewing machine. Just hack off the dress or skirt about 2" longer than you want it to be, then create a french hem by double folding the fabric up to hide the raw edge and hand stitch it up there using a whip stitch!

3. I created a belt with a big rosette out of fabric that I salvaged from a pair of really awful 80s pants. There are no rules here! If you see some fabric that you like but you don't like the form that its in, make it into something else! Just get creative!

If you have any questions or want more detailed instructions for something, just let me know. Maybe I'll work on a tutorial if there is some interest.

12.12.09: The Anatomy of a Concert Outfit

New Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Scarf: Gift from my sister from Ecuador
Leggings: Vera Wang for Kohl's
Shoes: Dansko
Coat: Target, vintage buttons opened by me
Clutch: Vintage, it was my moms

Last Saturday, I went to the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, which is billed as an all night concert featuring bands like the Counting Crows, Ani DiFranco, Government Mule and many others. I wasn't planning on staying all night, but you never know what might happen so I put a lot of thought into getting dressed. Comfortable shoes for standing (the most important factor)? check. Light, cotton layers because it will be hot inside? check. Scarf that can be used as a wrap in case it gets chilly? check. Warm coat for waiting in line that can be easily stashed somewhere? check. Small, easy to carry bag with only the essentials? check.

Well, the concert was ok, but it only reconfirmed that I'm really not that into shows of that magnitude that feature a bunch of acts I don't really like. I had better stick to small bars, bluegrass music, and the local pop scene in the future. The mass-market music industry is so over-rated. However, Ani was amazing and I hadn't seen her before, so it was totally worth it!

I tried to take some detail shot for ya'll, but here is what I got:



Squinty eyes. Then, I tried to open my eyes, and this happened:


My eyes aren't any more open, but my mouth sure is! I'm worried I'm turning into my father, this is exactly how he looks in our annual Christmas photo. Mouth open, pained expression, closed eyes!

Vintage Styling!

I'm starting a new feature on my blog! Yay! (I figured I'd give ya'll a break from all the gratuitous photos of myself.) I'm calling it Vintage Styling!

I'm always finding these really awesome vintage pieces that I love and it just breaks my heart when I put them up in the shop and don't get to style them up myself. So, I figured I could virtually style them and share the fun with ya'll. I'm going to try to accessorize each piece with items from other Etsy sellers so that I can spread the love.

For my first Vintage Styling, I picked this jumper that I absolutely love, but is (way) too small for me. Enjoy!



70s Autumn Leaves Gray Jumper (XS or S) from GVV
Cloud Gray Vintage Tunic Blouse from misovintage
Antique Silver Pink White Rose Cameo Gothic Lolita Steampunk Earrings from LondonsGate
Evan Picone Taupe Peeptoes from AdelaideHomesewn


BLACK LACE STEAMPUNK blouse with JABOT collar, size Medium, Large from BetaBoutique
Fall Series Magenta Earrings from Maraquita
VINTAGE LEATHER GRANNY LACE UP VICTORIAN ANKLE BOOT 7 6.5 TAN from BeeHiveTreasures

Hopefully you've been inspired to do some vintage styling of your own! If you have any items that you want advice on styling, feel free to email me or leave a comment. I'll style it up and post it on my next edition of Vintage Styling!

12.09.09

Dress: Dorothy Perkins
Cardi: Gift, Gap
Slip: Vintage, thrifted
Leggings: Vera Wang for Kohl's
Boots: Groundhog shoes
Purse: Vera Bradley
Bracelet: Gift

So, I ordered this dress and another from Dorothy Perkins because I wanted more jersey dresses to wear with my new boots (of course). Well, I love the other one and I've already worn it a few times, but haven't managed to get a photo of it for some reason. I was on the fence about this one, though now that I see the photo I'm not sure why. I felt like the color was a little bit off (too young, maybe?) and I definitely thought it was too short, even to wear over leggings! Of course, that's probably just me being paranoid, but whatever. Well, yesterday, I finally figured out how to Megan-ize it and now I love it! All it needed was this slip that I just thrifted as an "under skirt" to lengthen it and make it a little more exciting. I like the idea of layering skirts under dresses, I've done it quite a few times and I think it adds a lot more interest to the outfit, but I'm not sure I should do it with a slip. I'm always paranoid that it looks like I don't know that my slip is hanging out unintentionally! Maybe if I dyed it, it would look less slip like and more like its part of the dress.

What do ya'll think about slip/ under- skirts/ or otherwise layering clothing that isn't necessarily meant to be layered? Do you do it?

Dress Form!

My new (old) dress form is finally here! Yay! I'm so excited. I waited ALL DAY for FEX EX to deliver her- seriously, she didn't get here until about 6 PM. I was worried they had forgotten all about her. She came in this HUGE box. Isn't my mom just the best for shipping this monstrosity to me?

Here she is, in all her glory!

And, here is is modeling her new favorite dress:

I know that I could have gotten a cheaper, new mannequin for a bit less on Ebay (the kind with the gold top that all the other Etsy sellers use), but I thought that something vintage would be more fun and more unique! Plus, she is adjustable so I can use her for sewing projects, too. I envirion much more upcycling happening in the near future.

I have tentatively named her Millicent, Millie for short. Do any of you lovely readers have any name suggestions? The more, the better (I like really ridiculously long southern names)!

11.4.09

Last Friday, I was the outfit inspiration on Kimberly of Fab Finds Under 50's Inspiration Calendar. The outfit that I submitted to Kimberly for inspiration was a gray and brown mix that I wore a few weeks ago. I wanted to remix gray and brown in a totally new way and try to NOT wear my boots, since I have been wearing them so frequently recently. Here is what I came up with:

Dress: ??
Cardigan: Ross
Belt: from a "free store"
Shoes: Born Crown from Ross
Purse: Gift, Vera Bradley

Unfortunately it was much windier (as you can see from my hair!) and colder than I expected, so I had to go put some leggings on before I left the house. Oooooh, also I finally got to show ya'll my new fav shoes. They are super comfortable and so well made- but I got them at Ross for $30! I love a deal!

Shop Update

Well, I haven't show ya'll any shop updates lately, but I've been adding lots of fun new things! I can't wait to get my new dress form this week, I keep thinking about how awesome all of the new items will look when they are displayed on her! Hopefully this is the last batch of hanger photos, its just a select few of my new items, there are many more in the shop:

70s Tan and Black Ho Down Dress (M or L)

60s Mauve Floral Dress (XL, XXL)

50s Pink and Green Floral Model's Coat Dress (M, L, or XL)

60s Lillies Floral Prom Dress (S or M)

70s Red White and Plaid Dress (XS or S)

70s Fabulous Faux Fur Coat (S, M, or L)

80s Magenta Dress (XL, XXL)

60s Red Poppies Dress (M or L)

80s Jane Schaffhauser Belle France Dress (M or L)

80s Red Polka Dot Dress (S or M)

80s Pale Pink Lace Dress (S, M, L)

70s Neon Squiggles Shirt Dress (M, L, or XL)

70s Pink Ruffles Seersucker Blouse (L, or XL)

Lots of pink, huh? Winter hasn't even officially started, but it kind of looks like I'm dreaming of summer. Maybe this is my resort line!?!

11.29.09

Still catching up on Texas photos- this is the last batch (I think). On Monday, I went thrifting and antiquing in downtown McKinney, TX. I was on a MISSION for a vintage dress form. I finally realized that there wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to find one in Asheville after searching high and low, but I know that if you want something and you can't find it in Dallas, TX, it probably doesn't exisit. They have everything (and more) there. Here is what I wore:

Dress: ??, remixed many times
Sweater: From high school! Abercrombie (ha)
Leggings: Vera Wang for Kohl's
Boots: Goundhog Shoes
Scarf: Gift, from my sister from Ecuador
Bag: Gift from a friend, Vera Bradley

I found the dress form of my dreams, and for a steal of a Texas deal, but I had to ship it to myself so I don't have a photo of it to share. It will be here soon and I'll be updating all my shop photos to show Millie (as I have fondly named her). Instead, I have some scenic architectural vistas to share with ya'll.

Just Arrived...

... home from a LONG day of traveling! I'm totally exhausted so I'm heading off to bed, but I thought I would throw up a few more Texas photos. After all, nothing says Texas like horses!

Our (very large and grumpy) pony, Max



Max meets my puppy, Petey (who is terrified)



More Max, he's so handsome



Some other horse, what lovely nose!



Petey wants to come in the stall!