Well, you're not exactly Superman but you're awfully available.

Fashion inspiration post!

So I'm going to warn you that this is one of my loose inspirations. I absolutely love the outfit Vera Ellen wears in White Christmas (1954) when she proposes to Danny Kaye's Phil Davis. I love the wide circle skirt and the black top, pulled together with the red belt. So classy! 

I did my own version of that - instead of Vera Ellen's black and white gingham skirt, I have a black and grey plaid. And I didn't have a white turtle neck so I just went with the v-neck black top. And paired it with a red skirt. 

What a way to break up a cold!

Yesterday, I posted an outfit inspired by Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie.

I started a pinterest board ages ago called Movie Outfits to Recreate and this was one of the first ones on it. I adore Laura Petrie and pretty much everything she wears is perfect to me. I know I'm not alone in wanting to recreate outfits from movies and shows - but it always felt like something I might do someday. Sewing intimidates me considerably. I've started so many projects that are as yet unfinished. I was pretty nervous about embarking on a new project - what if I didn't complete it? What if I messed it up? What if, in this one outfit, I proved that I don't have the ability to make my own clothes? Okay, so that's a lot of pressure to put on one shirt but that's how my mind works.

Anyway, I showed my mom my Pinterest board to get her input on which would be the easiest outfit to do. She saw this picture and pointed at the screen and said, "that one. Do that one. You can make that."

I wasn't sure. I mean, it had sleeves. But my mom insisted I could do it. So we started brainstorming. We discussed fabric first. I loved the way the top fit Mary Tyler Moore nicely but had a nice boxy cut at the bottom. My mom decided that double knit was the best option because it would fit over my head without needing a button or a zipper, would be nicely fit at the top like I'd want, but wouldn't drape at the bottom. Then, we looked for a pattern. We knew on the outset that there wouldn't be a pattern exactly like that shirt but my mom is brilliant when it comes to adjusting patterns so I trusted her instincts. She found one that was specifically designed to be modified. I went to Joann's when I had coupons and they had sales and bought the fabric, the pattern, and the thread.

The pattern turned out to be even better than we had anticipated. It came with the usual pattern pieces but also came with gridded pattern paper so you could make adjustments. My mom added the triangles to the top and bottom of the shirt and she made sure the side was shaped the way I needed it. With a pattern in hand, the rest was up to me.

Like I said, I've struggled with completing projects. I've had so many "1 hour" sewing projects that take me weeks or months to complete. So when my mom said I could finish this in an afternoon, I was skeptical. But, I invited a friend to come over for a crafting afternoon, determined to knock it out as my mom predicted.

I still get pretty confused about how selvage comes into play with cutting but my mom guided me (via phone - sketch below) to get the cut right. The dreaded sleeves stressed me out considerably but my friend, Ashley, encouraged me through that process.

And, just as my mom said, I finished it in one afternoon!!

The edges were a little unpolished so my mom helped me finish the edging. But in one weekend, I had an outfit that was totally wearable and totally cute!

I even had a coworker tell me she loved my trendy top! Success!

I'm just a housewife...

Style Sunday! Er...Monday!

Today, dear friends, I'm channeling one of my favorite characters ever, Laura Petrie, played by Mary Tyler Moore. I discussed yesterday how Mary Tyler Moore's fashion choices were bold and ahead of her time. Well, today, I'm taking a page out of her book and wearing an outfit inspired by her.

And that top? Made by me!! I will discuss how I made it tomorrow.

How often does a man get rid of all of his troubles at the same time?

Style Sunday!

Have you ever seen Come September (1961)? It is a delightful movie. I'll go into more detail tomorrow about why you should see it if you haven't but, in the meantime, I'd like to talk about how amazing Gina Lollobrigida's costumes are in that movie.

I mean...

Every...

Single...

Outfit...

Is just...

 Divine...

I even love the wacky t-shirt she wears with the funky-looking fish. I showed my friend this movie and when this outfit came up, she said, "oh, god. That's awful." But I love the boxy cut of the top, the stripes behind the graphic. So cute! Not going to lie... I'm planning to make a top inspired by this one some day...

In the meantime, I have a dress that is actually quite similar to one of the dresses she wears. I'm not wearing a petticoat underneath it to give it the same poof - someday... But I was pretty excited when I realized I already had a ready-made inspired-by dress to wear.

I'd take... the gown. Less upkeep.

I love dresses. I can spend far too many hours just looking at dresses on Modcloth, Shabby Apple, or Shop Ruche. I know I'm not alone in this. I have a hard time buying dresses, though, because a) they're expensive and b) I find them hard to wear. To me, dresses mean dressing up. I've only lately been able to get into the habit of wearing skirts in a casual setting. I actually prefer skirts now. I used to hate skirts. Now, dresses is my new difficulty. How to dress them down? If I come out of my room wearing a dress, my roommates look at me and say, "ooh! Where are you going?" No where. I know it's better to be over dressed than under dressed. But still.

So, I've been trying to get inspiration on how to wear dresses well. I look at lookbooks and blog posts. Kate Gabrielle's series of un, deux, trois is particularly helpful in this regard. She has so many dresses and she wears them all the time! How does she do that? She just wrote a fantastic post on wearing dresses for every day occasions. Check it out. I can't even imagine having a dress to wear for eating ice cream. It's brilliant! I want to be that classy! But, I really hate spending money on dresses when I know I'll only wear them for the occasional and very rare instance when I'll somewhere fancy schmancy.

For instance, I bought this cute dress from Shabby Apple:


I wore it to my cousin's wedding and now I don't know how to wear it. Should I cut off a tier to make it shorter? Should I put a belt on it? Wear a top over it? I originally bought the dress because it seemed so flexible in casual/dressy terms. But now I don't know how to dress it down. Any suggestions?

And then there's this dress that I'm dying to buy from Shop Ruche. I really don't need a dress. And I probably will continue to talk myself out of it until it's no longer available but look how cute!



I know I'd buy it and then it would sit in my closet until my birthday or a wedding or a party. What a waste.

And here's what makes it worse. I try to wear outfits that are vintage-inspired and when I look at the outfits in old movies, practically all the girls wear are dresses! This, of course, makes my fashion inspiration posts very difficult to do because the outfits are one piece: a dress. Done.


There are plenty of dresses in old musicals that are evening gowns and dinner dresses. But these are just every day type dresses: visiting someone, going to work, walking through Rome, picking apple type dresses. I think of the dress Ann Miller wears to the museum in On the Town, the one Marilyn Monroe wears to work in Monkey Business, Nora Charles' outfits in The Thin Man movies. I see photos from blogs like Kate Gabrielle's and think, if I wore that, people would look at me funny. But girls did it all the time back in the day and brave and classy girls do it now! I need to step it up a bit. And I need to learn how to dress down a dress. Any suggestions? Please let me know!

Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls

Have you ever found a dress that looked like one from an old movie... and didn't buy it? I have.

There's one style that pops up often in old films and every time it does, I say, "I love that!" But when I find a dress on Modcloth or ShopRuche that has a similar style, I don't buy it because I don't think I can pull it off. Here's the style:

Sheer fabric over a dress with a sweetheart cut. I love it! Here is one of my absolute, all-time favorite versions of this style:

Lena Horne's dress also has another of my favorite things: a different colored petticoat or slip (I'm not sure of the difference between the two). It makes the dress even more eye-catching! Isn't it gorgeous?! Another example is this little number from White Christmas.

But... as much as I love it on film, when I see dresses like these in shops, I think, "meh. Sheer fabric looks weird" and then I don't buy it. Why is it that in movies, the sheer fabric is sexy and elegant but nowadays, I'm afraid people will think I'm strange for wearing it? And why do I care what people think anyway?

And another thing! Why is it that in old movies, the dresses have capped sleeves or something, but nowadays, they're sleeveless?

It's not the same, somehow. Will I ever live out my dream of wearing Lena's dress?

The dresses pictured above, by the way, can be found here, here, and here.

Do any of you have similar problems with old movie styles?

and I'm not making fun with you.

Today, I'm doing another fashion inspiration post - but with a new spin! As you've probably noticed, I rarely post photos of myself on this blog. While I like getting my photo taken, I get very self-conscious about it, so I tend to do it in moderation.

But, today I picked out an outfit that I was rather proud of. I'd modeled it after the outfit Lise wears in An American in Paris during the "Our Love Is Here to Stay" scene. Her outfit is pretty simple but some of the pieces are hard to track down nowadays. The outfit is a tuxedo shirt with a bowtie, a vest, a skirt, and ballet flats. I did roughly the same outfit, with a tuxedo shirt (sans bowtie), vest, a skirt, and ballet flats. I've found it very difficult to track down a nice fitted vest like the one Leslie Caron wears here. For some reason, they seem to be out of style at the moment. Her skirt is, in all honesty, a dancing skirt, and I don't have one of the same fabric to match the vest. But who's nitpicking?


The middle photo is from Doctor Macro. To see the dance scene go here.

And if you want some dig-dig-dignity

Yay! A new fashion post! This one is kind of an odd one because it's really really easy... but, as this is an outfit I've really liked for a very long time, I think it's worth doing a post about, yes?

Ok. Here's a video clip with the outfit in it:



I've always loved this scene. Not only because it has Gene Kelly and it's a fun song but because the outfits are all so cute! They're so very 1950's and so casual. I love them all! But, my favorite is the one being worn by Jeanne Coyne (Gene's wife! but not at this time). The one on the left:


This is such a classic and easy outfit but I really like the way it's pulled together here. I love the tucked-in shirt, the big belt, the cuffed jeans, the rolled sleeves, and the loafers. I'm not entirely sure I'd go for socks these days... but maybe!

the shirt - this one is from Old Navy. The sleeves are already rolled up so it's ready to go! I also like that it's a neutral color but it's not white. It's kind of pinkish, just like her shirt! Yay!

the jeans - obviously, everyone has a pair of jeans they love. I'm still working on finding a good pair for me. For this outfit, however, I think a pair with a skinnier cut would be best so you could roll them up to better effect. This particular pair is from Old Navy.

the belt - I found surprisingly difficult to find a big brown leather belt with a simple buckle. I don't know why. I finally found this one at Urban Outfitters.

the shoes - these really are what pull this outfit together, in my mind. Well, these and the belt. But the outfit is so very simple that having really cute and unique shoes are what I think will make this outfit look vintage-inspired. This pair is from the one and only Modcloth.


I hope you liked this outfit post! I feel so silly writing about such a simple outfit but there's a lot to be said for simplicity. And a good classic look can go a long way.

That son of a gun in Haiti has got the prettiest hat I own.

So, ahem, two months later, here's the next addition to my fashion inspiration series. It took me a little while to get it together. It's really easy to find super cute outfits in movies and really easy to find vintage-y outfits online, but to find ones that coincide is harder than I'd thought it would be. Plus, I'm trying to avoid having all of my outfits be super casual because super casual outfits all kind of looked a little similar - different, but similar. Anyway, this is an outfit that I absolutely adore. It's actually a whole bunch of outfits. The scene is "I Left My Hat In Haiti" from Royal Wedding. And the outfits in this scene are absolutely phenomenal. Take a look:


In a word: amazing. I love the mismatchiness. But I have to tell you, you would not believe how difficult it was for me to find outfits like this online. Now, I've used this scene as inspiration for myself before. I wear a sort of peasant skirt and a Mexican-esque top with a scarf around my hip and a scarf around my neck and a fedora. That's not quite what the outfit is. While there's no call to be exact because it is just an inspiration (for instance, the hat I've picked out isn't blue-gray, it's straw), I think it's important to get the pieces to be basically the same idea. The individual pieces all put together make the outfits in the scene so fantastic - the flowy floral skirts, the bright tops, the different colored scarves all over, the ballet shoes, and the hats combined with scarves. So, here's what I came up with:



the top - I realize I talked about how much I love the brightly colored tops but I was having trouble finding some that had the island look about them and that would looked good tucked in. Using the girl on the left-hand side of the second picture as my main inspiration, I decided that the outfit would be just as cute with a more neutral top. This one is from Modcloth.

the skirt - my goal in this piece was to find something that came just below the knees, that was made of flowy fabric, and, preferably, floral print. By the description, I think this one fits the bill. I found it at Anthropologie.

the shoes - aren't they adorable? I found them at Modcloth.

the scarves - I found them both at Modcloth: here and here. Honestly, I would choose just one and then dig through your closet to find a couple of handkerchiefs for your neck and head. I have obtained a few over the years but I don't know where you can buy fashionable handkerchiefs. Any suggestions?

finally, the hat - Again, this is not a blue-gray fedora but a straw one. While I do think there is much to be said in attention to detail, I really have to admit that the odds of someone getting where your outfit is from and then being offended that you are not exactly 100% accurate in your replication of it are pretty darn slim. If you're looking for a cute hat, Urban Outfitters always has an abundance of them, like this one.

Somewhere on Memory Island, lost with you

Ok. So, I can't lie. I'm pretty darn excited about this series I'm about to start. Mind, it's a pretty hefty amount of research so I may limit these posts to once a month... but just the same, I think it'll be fun!

Now, before I begin, I'd like to explain how I came by this idea. My sister and my mom suggested that I start dressing in a more vintage style than I currently do (usually I just throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt). I love this idea except for the fact that dressing vintage, as I'm sure all of you know even better than I do, requires having particular pieces involved - pieces that I neither have nor currently have the money for. My mom suggested I make a wishlist of all the pieces that I want so that I can slowly start to acquire them. Anyway, yesterday, I read a blog post by the marvelous Kate Gabrielle that inspired me on my new project. Kate's wishlist reminded me of magazine articles - which then reminded me of those articles that say, "How can you get ___'s look?" and then it would have similar pieces to the outfit pictured so that you could replicate it.

So, I thought I would bring this project to my blog and work on it here. I'm going to find outfits in old movies that I really like and then show where you (and I!) can buy outfits similar! Sound like fun? I'm awfully excited about it. Now, I should warn you that I am not a great shopper. Therefore, my knowledge of where to get the best what is pretty limited. Also, as you can imagine, this will be similar to the outfit pictured, not exactly as it is. I'm going to do my best to find outfits that actually work together (it can be hard picturing it on the computer though) so that, if you absolutely adore it, you could get the outfit all together! Or at least have a good starting point, anyway.

So, here's today's inspiration: the lovely Gloria de Haven. This is an outfit I've showcased before. She wore it in the Memory Island scene in Summer Stock.


Now, for my take on the outfit:

The top - I chose this one because it's collared and has that nice open look, like Gloria's. It's also really light so I think it would be easy to tuck in. You can find it at ModCloth.

The shorts - I wanted the longer shorts that also had the fold at the bottom. You can find these at ModCloth as well.

The coat - I liked the military look of the one in the movie. Plus, it's a nice color to bring to this otherwise neutral color palette. You can find this coat at Shop Ruche.

The scarf - It's hard to see it in the photo but the scarf is tied through her belt loops. I imagine you could just grab any longish thinish scarf to use as a belt. I thought this one was nice because the dots look like a similar color to the shorts and it matches the buttons on the shirt! You can find it at Shop Ruche.

Finally, the shoes - I like that she's wearing white shoes. It's so wacky to wear heels with shorts. I found these cute peep toe pumps at Shop Ruche. The style may not go exactly with the rest of the outfit. I'm really quite a novice at this whole thing. But it's an idea anyway.

What do you think? Do you like this new post idea? What do you think of my choices? I'd love to hear you feedback on this!